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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761878">let me free</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnificentbirb/pseuds/magnificentbirb'>magnificentbirb</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>we keep going on [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Blood and Violence, Brief Appearance by AB6IX, Dreamcatcher - Ensemble, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Space Pirates, Video Game Mechanics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:40:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,947</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761878</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnificentbirb/pseuds/magnificentbirb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A rescue mission, a dangerous planet, and a potentially deadly game.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa, OT8 - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>we keep going on [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>204</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HERE WE GO, Y'ALL.</p>
<p>another multi-chapter adventure! heavily inspired by "Illusion" (hence the title), more tags coming as the story continues, to avoid any potential spoils. 👀</p>
<p>pray for me, this is a true wip.</p>
<p>enjoy~!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yunho wakes up from a doze to a pillow hitting him in the face.</p><p>“Get up, we’re bonding,” says Hongjoong, already ducking out of the bridge.</p><p>“We’re—” Yunho’s voice cracks from lack of use; he must have been sleeping with his mouth open. He clears his throat and tries again. “We’re doing what now?”</p><p>“Bonding,” Hongjoong calls over his shoulder. “Bring your own blanket! We’re in the den.”</p><p>Yunho blinks after his captain, hugging the pillow to his chest. He checks the clock on the console; it’s half past midnight, standard time. He assumed the rest of the crew would all be asleep by now. </p><p>Curious, Yunho gets to his feet with a languid stretch and heads after his captain, pausing briefly at his bedroom to slip inside and grab his blanket.</p><p>Might as well be prepared.</p><p>The den is cozily lit by a few old-fashioned electric lanterns, and the entire floor has been strewn with mismatched pillows and blankets. Jongho is already there, sitting cross-legged on the ground, a pillow in his lap, hair mussed and looking adorably confused. Hongjoong has flopped down into a nest of fuzzy blankets beside Seonghwa, his head already pillowed on Seonghwa’s lap. Seonghwa looks up when Yunho enters and gives him a smile and a wave. He’s wearing glasses tonight, which he doesn’t do very often, but they look good on him, curse him.</p><p>“Welcome! I have no idea why we’re doing this,” Seonghwa says brightly, earning him a light smack on the arm from Hongjoong.</p><p>“We’re <i>bonding</i>,” Hongjoong insists. “We’ve gone through some pretty awful shit recently, so we’re having a sleepover. Captain’s orders.”</p><p>“Sounds good to me.” San comes up behind Yunho, squeezing his waist in a half-hug before stepping into the den and settling onto the blankets beside Jongho. San is wearing a sweater that’s far too big for him and looks incredibly soft. He grins up at Yunho and holds out a hand, and Yunho sighs and takes it, allowing himself to be tugged down onto the blankets and into a tight San-hug.</p><p>“This is silly,” he says, but San is stupidly cute when he’s not beating people up or seemingly dead from a blaster wound (<i>no, bad thought, too soon, go away</i>), and his sweater really <i>is</i> incredibly soft, and okay, so maybe Yunho actually really likes snuggling.</p><p>“You forgot this,” Wooyoung says as he enters the den, tossing a pillow to San, who catches it in one hand and immediately lies down on it with an exaggerated groan of relief.</p><p>“I love lying down,” he says.</p><p>Wooyoung settles on San’s other side, close enough to touch. He’s wearing glasses tonight, too, thick-framed and casual and usually only worn when Wooyoung is settling in for sleep, and Yunho realizes they’re actually doing this: They’re having a crew sleepover.</p><p>“Have you… do you do this often?” Jongho asks. He still looks a bit nervous, and Yunho wonders how they all must seem to him; Jongho basically grew up alone on Elgor, so it must be strange for him to suddenly be thrust into this crew full of tactile, enthusiastic friends who have events like mandatory post-trauma sleepover bonding parties. Quietly, Yunho gives Jongho an encouraging smile and tosses him a small red blanket; Jongho returns the smile, his eyes brightening, and spreads the blanket over his lap.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ve ever done it, actually,” Hongjoong says, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “At least not on purpose. In the past it was just me and Seonghwa and Yunho and Mingi, and we’d end up sleeping in the same room on our ship more often than not, but that was mostly because it was tiny and there was really only one room with beds.”</p><p>“I do not miss that ship,” says Mingi as he enters the room, arms full of the comforter from his bed. He plops the comforter down beside Jongho and immediately collapses on top of it. “The beds were too short and we never had hot water for more than three minutes and the walls of that bedroom were <i>mustard yellow</i>. <i>Treasure</i> is the biggest improvement ever, I love you, Yunho.”</p><p>“I do my best,” Yunho says, reaching over to pat Mingi’s messy hair.</p><p>“Where’s Yeosang?” Wooyoung asks, blinking around at the assembled crew.</p><p>“He said he had something to finish up in the med-bay,” Seonghwa says. He has his tablet open on his lap, sharing space with Hongjoong’s head, and Yunho wonders vaguely what he’s working on this late at the night.</p><p>As if reading Yunho’s mind, Hongjoong reaches back to swat at Seonghwa’s tablet.</p><p>“No work,” he says. “Only bonding.”</p><p>Seonghwa deftly snatches the tablet out of Hongjoong’s reach, keeping an eye on the screen even as he places a placating hand on Hongjoong’s hair.</p><p>“We can’t bond yet, we’re not all here,” he says. “I’ll stop when Yeosang arrives.”</p><p>“Who knows when that could be,” Hongjoong grumbles. “You know how he is when he gets hung up on a task.”</p><p>“True.” A low voice comes from the doorway, and Yeosang steps into the room, arms wrapped tightly around his own blanket and pillow. He’s wearing old-fashioned pajamas, striped in navy and white, and slippers that almost look too big for his feet. “But I resent the implication that I’d let a late-night task get in the way of mandatory bonding.”</p><p>“Mandatory <i>family</i> bonding,” Hongjoong says, grinning, and Yunho’s stomach twists pleasantly.</p><p>
  <i>Family.</i>
</p><p>It’s not a new notion, thinking of the crew of the <i>Treasure</i> as family. Yunho has considered Hongjoong and Seonghwa and Mingi his brothers ever since their first long trek together, before he even applied for a job with the GU. And then Wooyoung and San slipped into their little family like missing puzzle pieces, bright and brilliant and easy to love, and Yunho can now barely imagine the <i>Treasure</i> without the two of them, nor without Jongho’s shy laughter and Yeosang’s calming presence. They all fit so well, and Yunho wouldn’t trade a single one of them.</p><p>“And now—“ Hongjoong stretches as far as he can and plucks the tablet from Seonghwa’s hand. “Yeosang is here! No more work.”</p><p>“At least save that before you close it, please,” Seonghwa says with a sigh.</p><p>“What’re you working on this late, anyway?” Yunho asks.</p><p>“Expense reports,” Seonghwa says. “We’re going to need another job soon. Our savings will only last so long.”</p><p>“What happened to the money we got on Malin II?” San asks. </p><p>“We bought some extra fuel cells during our last station stop, which dug into our savings a bit,” Hongjoong says. “But this way in the future we’ll be able to refuel on the go, if we need to.”</p><p>Yunho sees realization flicker over the faces of the crew as memories of that terrible night resurface. He remembers talking with Hongjoong afterwards about increasing their fuel stockpile; if they’d had enough for ten jumps—twenty, even—instead of needing to ration for only four or five, then maybe… <i>maybe</i>… </p><p>Hongjoong didn’t need a lot of convincing.</p><p>“So we need some quick cash?” Wooyoung says, clearly eager to change the subject. </p><p>“Ideally,” says Seonghwa.</p><p>“I’ll call Woong in the morning,” Wooyoung says. “He always has a job or two in mind, or knows someone who’ll have a suggestion. I bet he can help us out.”</p><p>“Done.” Hongjoong swipes his hand through the air in a cutting motion. “Enough work talk. Wooyoung will call his contact tomorrow, and we’ll figure out where to go from there, so from now on, it’s family bonding time.”</p><p>“Did you have anything specific in mind, hyung?” Mingi asks with a grin. “Ice-breakers? Charades? A general airing of grievances?”</p><p>Hongjoong whacks him neatly on the back of the head with a pillow, but before he can give his rebuttal, Jongho clears his throat, shifting a bit nervously in his little nest of blankets. His ears are rather pink as he tentatively raises his hand.</p><p>“I have something to talk about, if that’s okay,” he says, his voice uncharacteristically small.</p><p>Hongjoong blinks at him. “Sure thing. Shoot.”</p><p>Jongho takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.</p><p>“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I’m… not all Terran. I’ve been told since I was young to keep it a secret from people. That people might… judge. If they knew. So.” He shrugs slightly. “I never told anyone. My trainer suspected, I think. And some of my opponents. But they never pressed it, so I never actually had to tell them that I—that I was—not what I said I was.” Jongho clenches his hands together in his lap, knuckles white. “And I thought… if you guys found out that I was lying to you, that I was a—a <i>half-breed</i>, or whatever, then you’d leave me behind.”</p><p>“What?” Hongjoong frowns. “Why would you think that?”</p><p>Jongho spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. “I don’t know, I just… I’ve been told for so long that I should never let anyone know about my parentage, and I just assumed that was because it would ruin any relationships I had if anyone found out.” He fidgets with the blanket in his lap, eyes downcast. “I’ve never really had friends before, let alone a close-knit crew like this. And I didn’t want to lose you guys, so I just… kept the secret.” Jongho shrugs again, and mumbles, “I’m sorry.”</p><p>Yunho’s heart clenches, but before he can even reach out to reassure Jongho, Hongjoong has already reeled Jongho into a tight hug, eliciting a muffled, incongruously cute squeak.</p><p>“You’re not going to lose us, Jongho-ya,” Hongjoong says, his arms wrapped mostly around Jongho’s head. “You can’t get rid of us that easily.”</p><p>“But—” Jongho’s voice is muffled, his hands braced against Hongjoong’s arms, but not pushing, even though Yunho knows he could easily break free.</p><p>“No buts,” Hongjoong says firmly. “Your DNA doesn’t control you. It doesn’t matter who your parents are, or whether you’re half-Terran or half-Eotian or half-something we’ve never even heard of. What matters are the choices you make. That’s all we care about.” He tightens his hold on Jongho. “And there’s nothing you could tell us about your parents that would make us leave you behind, anyway. Okay? You’re stuck with us for as long as you want to be.”</p><p>“And you don’t have to tell us who your parents are unless you want to,” Mingi adds, reaching over to gamely pat Jongho’s knee.</p><p>“It’s okay to have some secrets,” San says. “We all do. It doesn’t mean we’re not still close.”</p><p>“Thanks, guys,” Jongho mumbles. “I appreciate it.”</p><p>Hongjoong ruffles his hair. “Good grievance airing,” he says. “Proud of you. Do you feel a bit better?”</p><p>“I think so,” Jongho says. </p><p>“Great.” Hongjoong finally releases Jongho, who scoots back to his spot beside Mingi, looking relieved and rumpled. “Mission accomplished, then. Anyone else?”</p><p>They’re quiet for a few moments, and then Seonghwa says, “San still owes me sixty credits.”</p><p>“I said I’d pay you back after our next job,” San says, half-pouting.</p><p>“Mingi still hasn’t returned my laser-spanner,” Yunho says.</p><p>Mingi’s expression turns thoughtful. “I thought I put it on your bed.”</p><p>“Okay, does anyone have any more <i>real</i> concerns to address?” Hongjoong asks.</p><p>Yeosang lifts his right hand, his face carefully neutral.</p><p>“If I may…” He presses his lips together briefly, then says, quietly, “So I don’t exactly… sleep. At least, not like humans do.” He fidgets with the blanket in his lap. “And one of my friends once said it was creepy.”</p><p>“It’s not creepy,” Wooyoung says with a frown, sitting up slightly. “You just go a little blank, like Mingi does when he’s too tired. It’s totally normal. Who told you it was creepy? I’ll punch ‘em.”</p><p>“It’s okay, it was nothing, really, but it’s made me… think, sometimes.” Yeosang’s brow furrows. “I’m not fully… natural. I have wires in my brain, in my eyes, in my limbs, in my heart. I have entire servers in my head, accessible in the blink of an eye. There are parts of me…” He lets out a quick, low breath, sounding frustrated. “There are parts of me that might be entirely coded, and I don’t—I don’t always know whether the emotions that I’m feeling are all mine, or whether any <i>genuine</i> emotions I feel are… coming across.” He pauses, and Seonghwa reaches out, places a gentle hand on his arm. Yeosang flashes him a tight-lipped smile and covers Seonghwa’s hand with his own. “On second thought, this is actually kind of embarrassing. Sorry.”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Seonghwa says softly.</p><p>“Embarrassing is encouraged,” San says.</p><p>Yeosang gives a tight smile. “Basically, I know that sometimes I can seem a bit distant, but I hope you all know that I’m… happy. That I like being here, with you, as a part of this crew.” He pauses, fidgets a bit. “I don’t want you all to think that my affection for you isn’t genuine.”</p><p>They’re all quiet for a moment, letting that sink in, and then Wooyoung breaks the silence by launching himself over San and basically into Yeosang’s lap, hugging him tightly.</p><p>“Yeosangie, do you feel affection for us?” he teases.</p><p>Yeosang lets out a breathy laugh and gently wraps his arms around Wooyoung, his cheeks flushed.</p><p>“Maybe,” he says, hiding his face in Wooyoung’s hair.</p><p>“Yeosang, you saved Seonghwa’s life before we even properly met,” Hongjoong says quietly. “And then you saved Sani’s life, too. And your quick thinking helped us bring back both Wooyoung and Jongho. Not once have you given us any reason to think that any affection you have for us isn’t genuine.”</p><p>“And we don’t mind that you’re quiet about it.” Yunho shrugs. “It’s just the way you are, wires or not. Not everyone has to show affection as loudly as Wooyoung does.”</p><p>“Rude,” Wooyoung says, rolling back to his spot beside San and flashing Yunho a pout. “No more kisses for you.”</p><p>“My point is,” Yunho continues, absently slinging a pillow into Wooyoung’s face, making him squawk, “that everyone shows affection in different ways. I can’t really speak for the rest of the crew, but I kind of just assumed you’re more comfortable showing affection through actions more than words, and that’s totally fine.”</p><p>“We appreciate you no matter what,” Seonghwa says.</p><p>Yeosang breaks into a warm, soft smile.</p><p>“Thank you,” he says, voice quiet. “That’s… good to know.”</p><p>Yeosang’s confession ends up marking the end of the grievances, and they laze around chatting for a while, snug and comfortable in the low light of the den. Yunho’s chest feels warm and tingly, and as the crew starts to drift off into sleep, he can’t help but smile to himself. He could get used to mandatory family bonding time.</p><p>Eventually, he ends up settled on the blankets beside San, who is snuggled up against Wooyoung’s side, his head pillowed on Wooyoung’s shoulder. Wooyoung’s hand traces gentle patterns over San’s shoulder, and Yunho can’t help but watch, slightly hypnotized by the delicate movement. Wooyoung’s eyes are closed, and San’s breathing is starting to even out, and Yunho feels rather like he’s intruding on a moment, so he starts to shift away, only to pause when San makes a small inquisitive sound and reaches back for him, catching his sleeve.</p><p>“Where’re you going?” San asks sleepily, peeking at Yunho over his shoulder.</p><p>Yunho blinks at him. “Nowhere,” he says, because that seems like the right answer based on the pouty look San is giving him. “I’m not going anywhere.”</p><p>“Good, c’mere.” San tugs on his sleeve, and Yunho, after a moment of hesitation, scoots closer until he’s pressed against San’s back, which seems to satisfy San, who reaches down to tug Yunho’s arm into position over his waist.</p><p>“Is this… is this okay?” Yunho asks, keeping his voice low and his hand just barely brushing Wooyoung’s stomach; he can hold them both easily, like this. Something warm flutters in his belly at that.</p><p>“Mm,” San hums, snuggling down further, pressing his face against Wooyoung’s shoulder and tugging Yunho’s arm tighter. “It’s nice.”</p><p>
  <i>It’s nice.</i>
</p><p>Yunho exhales slowly, wishing the flush away from his cheeks, and lets his gaze drift around the den. The lights are still low, suffusing the room in a golden glow, and Yunho can just make out the rest of his crew. Seonghwa and Yeosang are curled up like kittens, and Hongjoong is sprawled across the blankets beside them, his head resting on Seonghwa’s shoulder and his feet hooked over Mingi’s stomach, one hand reached out to rest on Jongho’s head, as though he’s trying to touch as many of his crewmates as he can. </p><p>Yunho smiles fondly.</p><p>
  <i>It’s nice.</i>
</p><p>*</p><p>San presses his palms to the sides of the porcelain mug, relishing the heat against his skin. He fights back a yawn and takes a sip of coffee as he shuffles down the hall towards the bridge, following the low, familiar sound of voices bickering.</p><p>“—can’t believe you have them on <i>speed dial</i>,” Wooyoung is saying as San steps into the bridge. Wooyoung is sitting in front of the comms system, their list of contacts displayed on the screen.</p><p>“They’re my friends,” Yunho says defensively. “And they helped out a lot when you were kidnapped. We really needed them.”</p><p>“And I’m grateful for that, I am, but did you have to save the <i>direct line</i> to the <i>1-US</i> as a <i>speed dial</i> contact?” Wooyoung says. “They’re GU, Yunho.”</p><p>“<i>I</i> was GU, Wooyoung,” Yunho says. “And they’re useful. And nice. You should properly meet them someday. I think you’d get along.”</p><p>“But—” </p><p>San chooses that moment to step forward and place a hand on Wooyoung’s shoulder.</p><p>“Have you tried Woong yet?” he says, hoping to derail the bickering.</p><p>“I was just about to when I saw that Yunho saved his new best friends as our first speed dial,” Wooyoung grumbles. “<i>First</i>, Yunho. They’re <i>first</i>.”</p><p>“We don’t even have anyone else we contact enough to save their number!” Yunho says, throwing his hands up. “Of course they’re first!”</p><p>San squeezes Wooyoung’s shoulder.</p><p>“Just call Woong, please,” he says, and Wooyoung turns back to the comms console, still muttering under his breath.</p><p>The call clicks over after a few quiet buzzes, and a handsome young man with mussed silvery hair appears on the screen, backlit by warm golden light. </p><p>“Woo?” The young man—Woong—hides a yawn behind his hand. “What’s up?”</p><p>“Sorry, is it late there?” Wooyoung says. “I thought I calculated this right…” </p><p>“Nah, don’t worry, it’s not too late,” Woong says, waving a hand. “Woojin and I were just watching a movie and I fell asleep.” </p><p>“He barely got past the opening credits, he’s pathetic and old,” comes another voice from off screen.</p><p>San grins and leans over Wooyoung’s shoulder.</p><p>“Woojin-ah, stop bullying your elders!” he says, and Woojin steps into frame to present San with a rude hand gesture before slipping back off screen, proving that he hasn’t changed a bit since their time together conning smugglers back on Enceladus. </p><p>“Anyway, what’s up?” Woong says.</p><p>“Our crew needs a bit of cash,” Wooyoung says. “Have you heard of any jobs in systems around Cygnus A?”</p><p>“You never call just to say hi anymore, Wooyoung-ah,” Woong grumbles, but he’s smiling as he digs around a bit off screen before coming up with a large, sleek tablet. “Let’s see… there’s a supply run you could apply for, but they generally go for larger transports; I don’t know if the <i>Treasure</i> will be big enough.”</p><p>“How much storage do they need?” Yunho calls from behind them.</p><p>“The goods are 60 tons,” Woong says, raising his voice a bit so Yunho can hear him.</p><p>“Oof, yeah, that’s steep,” Yunho says. “<i>Treasure</i> could carry maybe a quarter of that per trip, but I doubt they’d be willing to let us do multiple runs?”</p><p>“Nah, not in my experience. This company is a fan of expedience.” Woong frowns down at his tablet, scrolling his finger along the screen. “Oh, this one’s new… I got a request from a relocated Venusian who wants to hire someone to help find his son. Apparently the kid and one of his friends disappeared somewhere in the Markarian system a couple weeks ago.”</p><p>“What’s the reward?” San asks.</p><p>Woong taps his screen, then lets out a low whistle. “Two-hundred thousand credits.”</p><p>“Shit,” Wooyoung breathes. “Is the Markarian system that dangerous, or is this guy just that desperate to find his kid?”</p><p>“I think it’s a combination of both,” Woong says. “The man seemed rather distraught when I talked to him.”</p><p>“The Markarian system is full of gangs.” Woojin slips back into frame, hooking a chin over Woong’s shoulder to peer at the tablet screen. “I’ve heard of entire planets run by a single syndicate, and none of them get along. What the hell is a kid doing running around there?”</p><p>“No idea,” Woong says, “but I’m guessing nothing good.” Woong waves the tablet at the comms screen. “You interested? I can send the details over now and get you in contact with the father.”</p><p>Wooyoung glances up at San, brows raised, and San takes a pointedly long sip of coffee, contemplating. He’s heard the same rumors Woojin has: entire planets gone off the grid, controlled with an iron first by different syndicates, constantly waging silent, illegal wars against each other. The Markarian system is notorious for being rich with quick jobs (<i>hence why he and Woojin have heard of it</i>), but the trade-off is the danger of the unknown. The syndicates keep a firm lockdown on their business, and even the GU has problems tracking what goes down in that system, to the point where they’ve largely given up on trying.</p><p>It’s a risk, but San has survived it before, years ago. And two-hundred thousand is an extremely tempting sum.</p><p>“Send the details, please,” San says to Woong, forcing a confident smile. “I’ll talk to our captain about it, and we’ll let you know whether he’s in.”</p><p>“Sounds good,” Woong says, tapping away on the tablet as he sends the file. “And be careful, okay? I can always find a different job for my favorite rag-tag crew, if I need to.”</p><p>“Thanks, Woong,” Wooyoung says. “We appreciate it.”</p><p>“Now go enjoy your movie,” San says.</p><p>“Don’t do anything dumb,” Woojin says back, a rather sweet send-off, from him, and then they cut the call. </p><p>Wooyoung, perhaps a bit petulantly, saves the number as the new first entry on their speed dial list (bumping the <i>1-US</i> down), labeled as <i>AB6</i>, after the dive bar Woong runs on a dusty little planet called Rimar. He then swivels his chair to face San and Yunho.</p><p>“Well,” he says. “Who wants to talk to the captain?”</p><p>*</p><p>Less than a day later, they’re on their way, with Hongjoong’s cautious acquiescence, the father’s tearful encouragement, a reference picture of two boys in their late teens, and coordinates to a planet in the Markarian system, the last place the boys were seen.</p><p>Yeosang sits near the back of the bridge as they finally enter the Markarian system, scrolling through the file Woong sent along. Hongjoong and Seonghwa are talking in low voices near the comms console, and Wooyoung keeps peeking over Yunho’s shoulder at the nav controls, trying to see how close they are to arriving.</p><p>Yeosang keeps coming back to the image of the missing boys on his tablet, both of them smiling brightly, one with messy jet-black hair (<i>Baekgyeul</i>, Yeosang remembers), the other with hair dyed neon blue: Wonhyuk, the distraught Venusian’s only son. They look young, innocent. Yeosang can’t help but wonder what could possibly have drawn them to the dangerous Markarian system, and his gut twists slightly with an emotion eerily close to foreboding.</p><p>“We’re on approach,” Yunho says, hands on the controls, sharp eyes fixed on the planet looming before them. </p><p>“It looks… darker than I expected.” Wooyoung squints through the window at the hulking planet, which is indeed mostly dark, only a few small pockets of light spread over its surface. “Where were we supposed to land, again?”</p><p>“We’re heading for the coordinates Wonhyuk's father gave us,” Yunho says. “I can’t quite tell where that’s supposed to be just from looking, but I’d assume one of the city-looking places?”</p><p>“We can only hope,” Yeosang says. He feels strangely nervous as they approach the huge planet. Something about all of that darkness feels unnatural, like it’s hiding something dangerous. Yeosang locks the tablet, unable to look any more at the boys’ grinning faces, and crosses his arms across his chest, trying not to seem too antsy. It’s probably nothing.</p><p>“What’s that coming towards us?” Hongjoong asks, leaning over the back of the pilot’s chair.</p><p>“I can’t tell.” Yunho cocks his head. “Maybe it’s a registration ship?”</p><p>“You think we need to register to land here?” Seonghwa flashes Hongjoong a nervous glance.</p><p>Hongjoong presses his lips into a tight line. “If so, we’ll figure it out.”</p><p>The small ship comes closer. It’s sleek and black and cylindrical, with blinking lights cascading along its sides, and the closer it comes, the less Yeosang trusts it. His heart inexplicably starts racing, and he clutches at his elbows anxiously. He attempts to scan the ship from his position near the rear of the bridge, but it’s still too far for him to tell much about it, other than to confirm that there’s no living being inside the cylinder.</p><p>And it seems to be growing gradually warmer even in the cold emptiness of space.</p><p>“Captain,” Yeosang says, alarmed enough to step forward at last, all the blood draining from his cheeks. </p><p>Hongjoong turns to him, all traces of curiosity gone when he sees the expression on Yeosang’s face. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I think that ship is preparing to fire at us.”</p><p>Hongjoong’s eyes widen. “What?” </p><p>“I can’t sense much, but it seems to be charging a weapon of some kind,” Yeosang says. “I think we should—”</p><p>A blinding flash of light fills the bridge, accompanied by a shriek of feedback that pierces Yeosang’s ears like white-hot knives. He screams, doubling over, clapping his hands over his ears, squeezing his eyes shut against the blinding light. His skull feels like it’s splitting open, he can’t see, he can’t hear, he can barely <i>breathe</i>— </p><p>Yeosang gasps in a desperate breath as the feedback starts to retreat, leaving a deafening hum in its place. Yeosang finally manages to force his eyes open, blinking back the afterimage of the flash, which hovers shadow-like across his vision. His optical sensors whir into action, trying to clear his vision, and after a few moments he can finally make out the rest of the bridge, still dim and indistinct after the unnaturally bright flash.</p><p>“Hongjoong—” Yeosang rasps, stumbling forward towards the pilot’s chair, where he last saw his captain. He reaches out a hand and is relieved to find a familiar shoulder. “Captain, are you—?” </p><p>Yeosang breaks off as his vision finally starts to clear, and his heart drops.</p><p>Hongjoong stands beside the pilot’s chair, one hand still resting on the back of Yunho’s seat, but his face is entirely blank. His eyes are glazed, his brow is clear, and Yeosang, terrifyingly, can barely tell whether he’s breathing.</p><p>“Hongjoong?” Yeosang shakes Hongjoong by the shoulder, jostling him, but there’s no reaction. Hongjoong remains dead to the world, staring straight ahead like a statue.</p><p>Panic creeps its way across Yeosang’s skin. He glances down at Yunho, and sure enough, their pilot’s face shows the same glazed expression, his hands lying limp on the ship’s controls.</p><p>“No, no, no,” Yeosang gasps, staggering away from Hongjoong and Yunho. He goes to Seonghwa next, claps desperate hands to Seonghwa’s cheeks, trying to force him to meet his gaze, but there’s no reaction; Seonghwa stares straight through Yeosang, eyes glazed, as though in a deep trance.</p><p>Wooyoung is the same, standing motionless and dull-eyed just beyond Seonghwa’s shoulder, and Yeosang chokes back a panicked sob as he staggers from the bridge.</p><p>“<i>Mingi!</i>” he yells, loud enough to hurt his own aching ears. “<i>San! Jongho!</i>”</p><p>There’s no hollered response from any of his crewmates, even though he knows they were awake, knows they were just playing a game in the den not ten minutes ago, and that on its own tells him all he needs to know:</p><p>He is alone.</p><p>Suddenly, another screech of feedback echoes through the ship, sending Yeosang stumbling to his knees. He thinks he screams again—his throat certainly hurts like he did—and he ends up curled in the fetal position in the hallway just outside the bridge, his hands clutched around his ears, something warm trickling down his wrists. His eyes won’t open, and he can’t hear beyond the roaring rush of white noise shrieking through his mind. His audio sensory system starts screeching at him, a shrill warning on top of the pain, and he can finally feel himself starting to pass out, the darkness encroaching as his systems start to shut down one by one, warnings flashing across the backs of his eyelids, bright red and blaring.</p><p>The floor feels cool against his cheek, and just before his consciousness leaves him entirely, he hears an unfamiliar woman’s voice whisper:</p><p>“<i>Open your eyes.</i>”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>please note some of the updated tags, and without any further ado, enjoy~!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seonghwa opens his eyes to sunlight.</p><p>He squints against the brightness, disoriented. He expects to feel heat, the air baked by the pervasive Terran sun, searing his skin, but instead there is only humid warmth, a gentle breeze that ruffles his hair, and dappled sunlight, filtering through softly swaying palm branches far above his head. He lifts his head with a low groan and finds himself lying on his back in a cool patch of grass. Beyond the grass is a shimmering white expanse of sand, and beyond that, what can only be a sea, sunlight glittering on waves.</p><p>Seonghwa stares at the beach in hazy disbelief for a moment, too groggy to make sense of what he’s seeing, and then with a jolt he realizes why everything feels so wrong.</p><p>He lurches upright, and his body immediately rebels at the sudden movement, his head spinning, stomach heaving. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, trying to keep from throwing up, and forces himself to take deep breaths despite the panic pricking cold along his spine.</p><p><em> Find the crew</em>, he thinks, letting out a slow breath. <em> Find them first. If you can’t find them, then you can panic. </em></p><p>Seonghwa forces his eyes open again, blinking back some of the gray, the afterimages of too-bright light. He takes a moment to look down at himself, checking his hands, his torso, his legs. No apparent injuries, which is a relief, but his stomach gives a sickening roil when he realizes he doesn’t recognize any of the clothing he’s wearing. The denim and bright colors are more reminiscent of what he might have worn as a teenager back on Terra, and he distinctly remembers throwing on a black jacket that morning— </p><p>He stops that thought before it can fully form, realizing with dawning horror that he has no idea whether “that morning” was actually <em> that morning</em>, or whether it was much longer ago. </p><p>Seonghwa forces himself to take another deep breath, and then turns his attention to the last oddity in his unfamiliar wardrobe: a sleek silver band around his left wrist, with no markings on it save for a small glowing heart pulsing eerily in time with his own. Seonghwa touches tentative fingers to the cool metal of the band. He drags a fingernail along the length of it, trying to find a seam he can catch, some way of removing it, but he comes up with nothing; even trying to dig his fingers between the band and his skin just leads to irritated skin and the band remaining firmly in place.</p><p>Frowning and once again forcing panic back down, Seonghwa taps the glowing, pulsing white heart, and jumps when a holoscreen appears in the air just above his wrist. At the top of the screen is a prompt that says, in neatly typed Galactian, <em> Enter your username</em>. Just below the prompt are five glowing, pulsing hearts, exactly matching the one on his band. Below that, the screen is mostly blank, with another simple prompt blinking expectantly at him: <em> Enter your teammates</em>.</p><p>“Teammates,” Seonghwa says quietly, and immediately lowers his wrist, looking around frantically for any sign of his crew. For a horrifying moment, he sees nothing but rolling sands and gleaming water and gently waving palm trees, and then he catches sight of something red and motionless lying in the grass a short distance away.</p><p>“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa breathes. He staggers to his feet and sprints across the grass, falling to his knees beside his captain, reaching out to grasp him by a shoulder and turn him onto his back. “Hongjoong, wake up. <em> Hongjoong!</em>” Seonghwa shakes Hongjoong by the shoulders, and relief burns through him when Hongjoong’s brow furrows and his face scrunches as he wakes with a low groan.</p><p>“Seonghwa?” It comes out slurred, but Seonghwa is just grateful to hear his voice. “Wha’ppened?”</p><p>“I don’t know.” Seonghwa helps Hongjoong sit up while continuing to scan the surrounding area, looking for any other sign of life. He keeps a hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder, reluctant to let him go. “I just woke up, too. Looks like we made it to a planet somehow? But I have no idea which planet, or where everyone else ended up.”</p><p>“Wait, we’re alone?” Hongjoong shakes his head, clearly just as disoriented as Seonghwa was when he first awoke. “That can’t—that can’t be right. We were all together on the ship, they have to be here somewhere.” He pauses, blinks up at Seonghwa, turns his head to look around them. “Where’s the ship?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Seonghwa says, again, a bit helplessly.</p><p>Hongjoong goes very still; Seonghwa can see the panic starting starting to rise in him. </p><p>“We have to find them,” Hongjoong says.</p><p>“I know.” Seonghwa tries to keep his voice calm. “We will. Are you okay to stand?”</p><p>“I think so.” Hongjoong gets to his feet, a bit unsteady; Seonghwa keeps a hand beneath his elbow to support him. Hongjoong finally looks down at himself, taking in his unfamiliar red coat and the silvery band wrapped around his own left wrist. “Who the hell changed our clothes? And what is this?” he asks, poking at the glowing, pulsing heart on the band’s surface; Hongjoong’s heart is lit up red, which makes Seonghwa frown down at his own glowing white heart, wondering why the colors would be different.</p><p>“No clue.” Seonghwa holds out his own wrist, showing Hongjoong the band. “I couldn’t find an easy way to remove it, and it was just… there, when I woke up.”</p><p>Hongjoong touches the band again, opening the holoscreen the same way Seonghwa did. His brow furrows, clearly trying to figure out its purpose, and then he closes it again.</p><p>“We’ll deal with it later,” Hongjoong says. “First, let’s find the rest of the crew.”</p><p>They start walking down the edge of the beach, keeping an eye on the expanse of sand to one side and the grassy inland area on the other. The fear that they might truly be alone on this mysterious planet with no idea where the rest of their crew is grows like a pit in Seonghwa’s stomach, consuming him more and more with every step they take. Beautiful ocean vistas and inviting palm trees mean nothing if they’ve lost their crewmates.</p><p>“What if they’re not here?” Hongjoong’s voice is quiet, almost lost in the distant roar of the waves.</p><p>“They’re here,” Seonghwa says firmly, if only because he refuses to consider the alternative.</p><p>“I don’t trust it.” Hongjoong scuffs a shoe in the sandy grass, and it’s so strange to see him wearing casual shoes, not his usual chunky black boots. “How the hell did we get these outfits? Where’s the <em> Treasure</em>? What planet is this? <em> Is </em> this even a planet? Or are we—?” He breaks off, his face contorting, and Seonghwa automatically reaches out and links their fingers, squeezing Hongjoong’s hand tightly.</p><p>“Hey,” he says, soft. “We’re together. And we’ll find our crew, no matter what. Okay? It’ll be okay.”</p><p>Hongjoong lets out a shaky breath, but he nods, and squeezes Seonghwa’s hand, and they keep walking.</p><p>“JEONG YUNHO!” Hongjoong calls out after another minute of walking in silence, startling Seonghwa. Hongjoong cups a hand around his mouth and yells again: “CHOI SAN! KANG YEOSANG!”</p><p>“MINGI-YA!” Seonghwa yells, taking up the call. “JUNG WOOYOUNG!”</p><p>“JONG—” Hongjoong suddenly stops, his head whipping around, eyes wide. “Did you hear that?” he says, voice tight.</p><p>Seonghwa pauses. “Hear what?”</p><p>Hongjoong holds up a hand, motioning for Seonghwa to wait. They’re silent for a moment, and then Seonghwa hears it, too: a distant voice, calling out a familiar name.</p><p>“<em>HONGJOONG-HYUNG!</em>” </p><p>Hongjoong doesn’t even hesitate; he breaks into a sprint, heading further inland, where the voice seems to be coming from. Seonghwa follows him, praying that they’re not just hearing what they want to hear, that this isn’t a trap or a mistake or a bizarre shared hallucination (<em>although considering they still have no idea where the hell they are or how they got here, Seonghwa wouldn’t be surprised if this whole planet ended up being a shared hallucination, but now doesn’t seem like quite the right time to panic about that</em>).</p><p>And then Hongjoong yells, “MINGI-YA!” And Seonghwa finally sees them, three running figures heading straight for them, dressed in unfamiliar, brightly colored clothes, but all smiling and calling their names.</p><p>Mingi and Hongjoong meet up first, hugging fiercely, and then Seonghwa finds himself with an armful of Choi San, followed closely by Jongho, who wraps them both up into a tight hug. Seonghwa lets out a helpless laugh, briefly overcome by a surge of relief.</p><p>“God, you have no idea how happy we are to see you,” Mingi says once they all finally disentangle, each of them still sporting a grin. “We’ve been wandering around for almost an hour looking for you guys. I was starting to think we were all alone.”</p><p>“We were afraid of the same thing,” Hongjoong says. “But since we’re all here, then the others have to be here, too, right?”</p><p>San’s face falls. “So you haven’t seen them either?”</p><p>“Not yet.” Seonghwa squeezes San’s shoulder. “But we’ll keep looking.”</p><p>“What about the ship?” Jongho asks.</p><p>“Also missing in action,” Hongjoong says, “but we’ll find her, too.”</p><p>“Have you guys figured out anything about these wristbands?” Seonghwa asks, holding up his own.</p><p>“Nothing yet, except that they won’t come off,” San says, scowling down at his. Seonghwa notes that the little heart flashing on San’s band is purple; Mingi’s is pink, Jongho’s orange. “We were a bit more concerned with finding you,” San continues, “so we haven’t really spent a lot of time playing around with them.”</p><p>“So you haven’t tried actually entering anything yet?” Hongjoong says, tapping his own band to open the little holoscreen. </p><p>“No, but I suppose we could.” San opens his own holoscreen, and then taps the blinking field beside <em> Enter your username</em>. A small keyboard appears on the screen, and he types his name. The console accepts <em> San </em> with a happy little chime. </p><p>Nothing happens.</p><p>“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Jongho mutters.</p><p>“I mean, it’s just entering a name,” Mingi says, opening his own holoscreen to do the same. “If my lifelong knowledge of vid-games is anything to go by, then—”</p><p>San’s wristband starts chirping.</p><p>San curses and jumps, holding his wrist as far away from himself as he can, but then Seonghwa catches a glimpse of the name flashing in yellow on the band, and his heart pounds:</p><p>
  <em> Wooyoung. </em>
</p><p>“Holy shit,” San breathes, and automatically taps the band, making the chirping stop. A small holoscreen appears above the band again, this time black but for a small display in the bottom right-hand corner that says <em> Wooyoung</em>. San frowns at the screen, bringing his wrist up to his face. “... Young-ah?”</p><p>“... San?” Wooyoung’s voice comes from the band, tinny and distant, but unmistakable, and Seonghwa feels like he might collapse from relief.</p><p>“Oh thank god, where are you?” San says.</p><p>“I’m with Yeosang and Yunho on the beach, where are you? Are you alone?”</p><p>“No, everyone else is here, too.”</p><p>“Well, come back to the beach, you assholes! We’ve been worried sick!” </p><p>Seonghwa can’t help but laugh at that; Wooyoung’s voice is about three octaves higher than usual, a sure sign that he’s doing his best to hide his nerves.</p><p>“How did you manage to contact us?” Hongjoong steps closer to San, peering down at the holoscreen. </p><p>“We’ve been playing around with these wristband things, and then suddenly San showed up as a recommended teammate,” Wooyoung says. “Okay, can you turn your camera on, please? I really—we want to see you.”</p><p>“It’s been hours, we were getting really nervous.” That’s Yunho’s voice, also coming through the comm.</p><p>“How do I—? Oh.” San touches what looks like an old-fashioned vid-icon on the holoscreen, and then suddenly there’s Wooyoung, looking a bit pale and also dressed in unfamiliar bright clothing, but he beams as soon as he catches sight of them in the camera. </p><p>“You’re alive!” he crows. “Look, look.” He holds out his wrist, and Yunho and Yeosang appear over each of his shoulders, grinning.</p><p>“You’re all okay?” Yunho asks, hooking an arm around Wooyoung’s neck and leaning in so he can see the screen. “Everyone present and accounted for?”</p><p>“We’re all here, and we’re all fine,” San says, holding his own wrist out and up, the better to show the rest of the group. Seonghwa waves at the screen, feeling a little ridiculous, but it’s worth it to see Wooyoung and Yunho wave back, both still grinning.</p><p>“San-ah, can you add Wooyoung as a teammate?” Yeosang says, leaning over Wooyoung’s shoulder towards the screen. “Once you’re teammates, you should be able to use the locator to find us.”</p><p>“There’s a locator?” San blinks at his wristband.</p><p>“Wow, you guys didn’t explore the consoles at all, did you?” Yunho says.</p><p>“We were more concerned with finding you!” Mingi says defensively. </p><p>“Never mind, just—add Wooyoung as a teammate, and come find us,” Yeosang says, shaking his head fondly. “We can get everything else figured out once we’re all together.”</p><p>“But don’t hang up,” Wooyoung says quickly, and then adds, a bit sheepishly, “please. We should be able to stay on the line while you do that.”</p><p>San’s smile is soft in that special way it only is for Wooyoung. </p><p>“We’ll stay on the line,” he promises.</p><p>It takes only a few moments for San to add Wooyoung to his list of teammates, after which the wristband chimes again, and then San is able to click on a little compass icon beside Wooyoung’s name, which brings up a small blinking yellow arrow, pointing in the direction of the beach.</p><p>“I suppose we follow that, then,” Hongjoong says, and they head towards the sea.</p><p>*</p><p>The waves look wrong.</p><p>Yeosang can’t quite pinpoint exactly <em> how </em> they look wrong, but there’s something about their distant, gentle roll that sits uneasily in his mind. He finds himself staring at the horizon while Wooyoung and Yunho chatter to the rest of the crew via Wooyoung’s wrist console, teasing them, Wooyoung crowing “Colder!” any time he thinks the others might have taken a slightly wrong turn. Yeosang glances over his shoulder, his chest warm as he watches them laugh together. He places a hand over his heart, and something about that feels wrong, too. The beat is too loud, too even. He knows the machine that pumps blood through his veins, knows that it’s had a slight hitch in its cadence ever since he got into that scrape in Centaurus A, the mechanisms never quite recovering after a nasty electrical shock. </p><p>Yeosang takes a deep breath, steadying himself. He closes his eyes, listens for the familiar whir of sensors in his eyes, adjusting to the light. Instead there is only silence, something he hasn’t heard since before the accident, before his modifications, before— </p><p>He opens his eyes.</p><p>The waves look wrong.</p><p>“SAN-AH!” Wooyoung’s loud cry of delight cuts through Yeosang’s worries, and he looks back to see Wooyoung bolting across the sand to meet a distant familiar figure, running ahead of the rest of their crew. Some of the tension eases from Yeosang’s shoulders as soon as he catches sight of them; he barely realizes that he’s counting until he hits five, and then he can’t help but smile despite the concern bubbling in his mind.</p><p>Wooyoung and San meet first, Wooyoung nearly knocking San off his feet with the ferocity of his hug. San lifts him up and spins him around, and Wooyoung places a smacking kiss on San’s cheek, laughing. Yeosang watches them with a smile, but it feels brittle; he keeps thinking about the waves, itching in the back of his mind. </p><p>“You okay?” Yunho says quietly, eyeing Yeosang. He looks torn between concern for Yeosang and wanting to race to meet the rest of their crew, so Yeosang forces a more genuine smile.</p><p>“I’ll be fine,” Yeosang says. “Let’s go.”</p><p>The fierce hugs Yeosang receives from his crewmates (Mingi even going so far as to lift Yeosang straight off the sand) helps to ease some of his concerns, but as they all calm down and start discussing their strange dress, the wristbands, their lack of ship, the mysterious planet, Yeosang feels his general sense of unease continue to grow.</p><p>“Look, there has to be a ship here somewhere, right?” Yunho says at last. “Even if we’re not able to find the <em> Treasure </em> right away, we’re on a planet, or a station, and every planet or station will have hangars somewhere. We’ll find something to fly, and we’ll get out of here.”</p><p>“I hope it’s that easy,” Hongjoong says. “I hate not knowing how we got here. And who the hell changed our clothes? That’s just plain creepy.”</p><p>“And why would they kidnap us, separate us, change our clothes, and then just… leave us?” Wooyoung says. “Unless…” He squints suspiciously up at the sun, shading his face against the brightness. “You think someone’s watching us right now?”</p><p>“It’s possible,” Seonghwa says grimly. “We should be on our guard, just in case.”</p><p>“Wait.” Mingi cocks his head, his eyes narrowing. “You guys hear that?”</p><p>“Hear what?” Yunho says.</p><p>“It’s like a weird rumbling or something,” Mingi says. “Do you think there are earthquakes here?”</p><p>Wooyoung scoffs. “Wouldn’t that just be fantastic—”</p><p>“There.” Jongho cuts him off, his eyes focused on something further down the beach. “Something’s coming.” </p><p>Yeosang follows Jongho’s gaze and spots a large, dark silhouette moving swiftly across the sand. For a moment, he sees something silvery shimmer over the silhouette’s form, flickering like a mirage, but it’s gone as soon as he blinks.</p><p>“What is that?” Seonghwa’s voice is low, his eyes narrowed as he squints against the sunlight down the beach.</p><p>“I can’t tell.” Hongjoong steps up beside Seonghwa, the two of them subtly positioning themselves between the mysterious silhouette and their crew. Hongjoong glances over his shoulder. “Yeosang? Can you take a closer look?” </p><p>A frisson of panic shoots through Yeosang’s gut.</p><p>“I—I can try,” he says, all too aware of the unnatural silence in his head, but he lets out a slow breath and tries to focus on the dark shape approaching them. He lets habit take over, tries to adjust his optical sensors to lock onto the shape in the distance, zoom in so he can see any details of the creature, but instead of the usual comforting hum and whir of the mechanisms in his head, he feels a sharp jolt of pain behind his eyes, making him cry out.</p><p>“Yeosang?” Jongho’s voice is suddenly very near, and a hand squeezes Yeosang’s shoulder as Yeosang doubles over, trying to blink away the tears in his eyes.</p><p>“Sorry, I—” Yeosang breaks off, scrunching his eyes shut. “Something is wrong. More wrong than just us not knowing where our ship is and being in these weird clothes and—” Another jolt of pain, this time leaving him half-blind and shaking, his ears ringing. He vaguely registers Jongho easing him down onto the sand, hears concerned voices asking whether he’s okay, but for a moment all Yeosang can focus on is trying to breathe, trying to figure out how to make his heart beat in its usual rhythm instead of this unfamiliar one, even and racing.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Yeosang gasps, trying to blink away the tears impeding his vision. He reaches out blindly, finds a hand, grasps it tightly. “I’m sorry, I can’t—there’s something—”</p><p>And then he sees it again, just for a moment: A flash of what looks like shimmering, unfamiliar text, hovering just above the surface of the sand near his left hand, there and then gone. </p><p>Yeosang’s stomach drops.</p><p>“Oh,” he says, faintly, and then something inhuman screams.</p><p>“<em>Shit</em>,” Jongho says. He uses Yeosang’s shoulder to push himself back to his feet, and then he’s up, shoving past Hongjoong and Seonghwa to face the huge spider-like creature barreling towards them. The creature propels itself forward across the sand on spindly legs with far too many joints, sharp talons attached to the end of each leg, a gaping maw at its front, a gleaming black carapace covering its back. It shrieks again, loud enough to make Yeosang wince.</p><p>“Any ideas?” Yunho says, taking a step back, eyes wide.</p><p>“We need weapons,” San says. He glances around the beach, and then breaks into a sprint for the edge of the sand, aiming for a tangle of whitewashed driftwood. </p><p>“Quickly, hyung,” Jongho calls over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the approaching spider creature.</p><p>San is back in a flash, and he tosses a large branch of driftwood to Jongho, who catches it one-handed, brandishing it like a club. Another branch goes to Seonghwa, then to Hongjoong and Yunho, and San keeps the last for himself.</p><p>“Nothing else looked sturdy enough, sorry,” he explains when Wooyoung fixes him with a look. “Just stay behind us for now, okay? You and Mingi care of Yeosang.”</p><p>Yeosang starts to protest, but then the spider creature screams again, and the time for protests has passed.</p><p>Jongho bolts forward, meeting the creature a small distance away from the rest of the group. He ducks beneath a swiping talon and swings upwards with the driftwood club, catching the creature on the joint of one of its front legs. The joint cracks, suddenly bending the opposite way, and the creature lets out another shriek.</p><p>“Stay here,” San says, laying a hand on Wooyoung’s chest, and then he runs forward to join Jongho, Seonghwa and Yunho following close behind. Hongjoong hesitates before going, glancing at the rest of his crew, catching Yeosang’s eye.</p><p>“You okay for now?” he asks, his voice strangely soft against the creature’s screams behind him.</p><p>Yeosang takes a deep breath; his heart is still racing, and his head still feels like it might split in two, but he knows that’s not the most important issue right now.</p><p>“I’ll be fine,” he says. “Go.”</p><p>Hongjoong nods. </p><p>“Take care of him,” he tells Mingi and Wooyoung, and then he sprints into the fray. The spider creature has halted its charge, now finding itself faced with five armed opponents. Its talons lift defensively as it scuttles back and forth, a few of its legs already broken and dragging in the sand. It turns to face Hongjoong, letting out a hiss, and Yunho takes the opportunity to lunge forward and shatter two of its back legs with one great swing, aiming for the joints. The creature squeals and kicks out, forcing San and Seonghwa to hurriedly fall back towards the water, and then it spins to face Yunho, only to find itself getting hamstrung yet again, this time by Jongho, who swings low, catching some of the creature’s vulnerable ankle joints.</p><p>“This is… going well?” Mingi says; his eyes are fixed on the fight, and Yeosang can see his hands squeezed into fists at his sides, so tense that he appears to be trembling. Yeosang reaches up to take his hand, forcing him to unclench.</p><p>“I think we can trust them,” Wooyoung says, but Yeosang can tell from the set of his jaw that he’s nervous, his eyes locked on the fight.</p><p>The creature lets out another shriek, and Yeosang turns back just in time to see San dart nimbly back from scoring a blow that apparently took out at least three legs, all of which now twitch uselessly against the sand. The spider creature topples, shrieking, more legs now broken than not, and Seonghwa, grim-faced, steps up for the killing blow, hefting his sturdy driftwood branch and then swinging it down with deadly force upon the creature’s head, fracturing the carapace, sending dark blood flying. The creature lets out a gargling screech, and Yeosang looks away before the next blow lands, squeezing his eyes shut against the crack of wood on shell.</p><p>There’s a moment of quiet, punctuated only by the rolling waves and the heavy breathing of their crewmates, and then Wooyoung lays a hand on Yeosang’s shoulder.</p><p>“I… I think it’s done,” he says softly.</p><p>Yeosang opens his eyes. The spider creature lies unmoving on the sand, surrounded by broken limbs and dark blood. Their fighters are also bloodstained, but it all looks much too dark to be their own. Yeosang lets Wooyoung help him to his feet, and they go cautiously to meet the rest of their crew.</p><p>“Okay, what was that?” Mingi says. “There are <em> monsters </em> on this planet now?”</p><p>“Apparently so,” Seonghwa says with a sigh, still slightly breathless from the fight. </p><p>“What if we weren’t supposed to kill it?” Yunho prods at the creature with the toe of his shoe, making one of the legs jiggle. </p><p>“Next time, I’ll be sure to try and ask its intentions while it’s charging at us and screaming,” Jongho says flatly.</p><p>Yunho makes a face at him, and Jongho just shrugs. </p><p>“That’s enough,” Hongjoong says, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Everyone good?”</p><p>“Physically? Sure,” Wooyoung says. “But apparently this planet is out to kill us, which puts a bit of a damper on my mood.”</p><p>“So much for a relaxing beach weekend,” San says, attempting to smile.</p><p>“It’ll be fine,” Yunho says, breathlessly, his eyes shining. “Look, we can do this. We’re all together now, right? And we managed to fight off whatever—that—was.” He gestures towards the bleeding spider creature, his face scrunching in distaste. “We just need to find a way off this planet. As soon as we find a ship, I’ll have us all out of here before you can—” Yunho suddenly breaks off with a choked, gurgling sound that makes Yeosang jump. </p><p>“Y-Yunho?” Hongjoong’s voice is wavering, small.</p><p>Yunho coughs once, an awful, wet sound. He looks down at the serrated black talon piercing through his chest from behind, his eyes wide, his mouth open in surprise, blood on his lips.</p><p>“Ow,” is all Yunho says before the talon suddenly pulls back, leaving a terrible, gaping wound in Yunho’s chest. Yunho’s eyes roll back into his head, and he collapses into a heap on the sand, blood staining his bright jacket.</p><p>“YUNHO!” Hongjoong screams, his voice breaking as he rushes to Yunho’s side, and then San and Jongho are shoving past Hongjoong to face the second, smaller spider creature rising from the sand just behind Yunho, its maw already open and shrieking.</p><p>“Get back!” Jongho roars, ducking a deadly swipe from a talon, and then they’re fighting again, darting behind the creature, trying to draw it away from the rest of the crew, but Yeosang notes it all only as a distant blur. He hears Hongjoong sobbing Yunho’s name, sees Seonghwa reaching for a blaster that isn’t there, watches San take a grazing hit to his side, sending him stumbling, blood blooming on his yellow sweater, Wooyoung screaming his name.</p><p>Yeosang looks at Yunho, bleeding out into the sand. He knows he should help, hears Hongjoong calling for him, desperately, his voice breaking, but Yeosang can’t shake himself from his daze. His gaze lifts automatically to the waves, which are still rolling merrily in the distance, too even, too perfect, so wrong. He blinks, feels the now almost familiar jolt of pain behind his eyes, and then— </p><p><em> There</em>.</p><p>Floating like shimmering ribbons in the air, he finds delicate lines of what can only be code, the same kind of code he used to play with as a child when he was trying to write his own programs, create his own games, his own worlds— </p><p>“Oh,” Yeosang says again, and then, more insistently, “<em>Oh.</em>” </p><p>He lifts his wristband, ignoring the way Hongjoong is screaming at him, the way Seonghwa bolts past him into the fray, the way Jongho cries out as he gets knocked to the sand. Yeosang opens his console and finds the list of teammates immediately, each name picked out in neat, color-coded characters, and beside each name, those five small, glowing hearts.</p><p>Except now, Yunho—name written in pretty blue font—only has four.</p><p>“It’s a game,” Yeosang says quietly. “It’s a <em> game</em>.” He closes his console and looks immediately to the spider creature, now a bit more on guard, with three fighters circling it, each armed with a gore-stained driftwood club. Steeling himself against the pain, Yeosang concentrates on the spider creature, and soon enough, after another jolt, he sees the lines of code crawling over its black carapace. </p><p>“Yeosang, what the hell are you doing?” Mingi yells from where he kneels beside Yunho, tears on his cheeks, hands trembling and covered in blood.</p><p>“Wait,” Yeosang says, and then he taps his console, desperately willing this to work, because if he can <em> code </em> this, if he can somehow <em> fix this</em>, then—</p><p>His console chimes merrily, and then suddenly the screen goes black, an empty text scene with a blinking cursor, waiting for input.</p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” Yeosang breathes, and then he’s typing as quickly as he can, not yet fully sure whether the code he’s copying from the glimmering characters hovering over the spider creature is being typed or willed onto the screen. At this point, it doesn’t matter, because this is <em> working</em>, this could <em> work</em>, and Yeosang loses himself in it for a moment, ideas flashing through his mind, until he finally reaches something that seems easy and quick enough, and then the code is finished. He triumphantly swipes the screen, sending the code shimmering into the air, where it flutters for a moment before finally arcing breeze-like over to where the fight roars on, where it settles on the spider creature’s carapace, and then suddenly—with no fanfare, in the blink of an eye—the creature shrinks down to the size of a mouse, scuttling frantically in the sand.</p><p>For a moment, everything is still. San, Jongho, and Seonghwa stand frozen around the tiny spider creature, bloodied and panting, each of them wide-eyed with shock. Hongjoong stares at them, and then turns to stare at Yeosang, equally stunned.</p><p>“What… what did you just do?” Hongjoong says.</p><p>Yeosang steps away, heading for the paused battle, and he takes much satisfaction in looming over the scuttling little spider creature before he finally lifts his foot and crushes it beneath his heel with a quiet crunch.</p><p>“It’s a game,” he says again, louder this time, now that he’s confident in his theory.</p><p>“Wh-what’s a game?” San says, pressing a hand to the wound in his side.</p><p>“All of it,” Yeosang says, lifting his hands. “This world, those creatures, our clothes, <em> us </em> . It’s all part of some game. There’s code <em> everywhere</em>, you don’t—you can’t see it, can you?”</p><p>Judging by the looks his crewmates are giving him, Yeosang decides not to press that point too much. Wooyoung watches Yeosang with wide, tear-stained eyes, his brow furrowed in a way that plucks a certain vulnerable nerve in Yeosang’s chest; Wooyoung looks frightened, almost betrayed, far too reminiscent of Yeosang’s ex-employers when they learned that he was modded, not quite human. Yeosang glances at the fighters, sees Seonghwa also watching him warily, sees the way San’s eyes keep flicking anxiously from Yeosang to Yunho and back again. </p><p>Brain skittering over the flash of panic those looks dredge up, Yeosang instead switches to the most important part. He turns and points to Yunho, still bleeding out on the sand.</p><p>“Just… watch,” Yeosang says, his eyes aching as he concentrates, but he can see the little glimmers of code working, fluttering around Yunho’s body, and then suddenly, in a bright flash, Yunho’s body vanishes.</p><p>Hongjoong jerks back, startled, his eyes bugging. </p><p>“What the hell—” he says.</p><p>Yeosang opens his wrist console again. He clicks on Yunho’s name, and his heart soars when he sees a small blue compass icon beside Yunho’s name. Yeosang clicks on it, and an arrow appears on his console, pointing a bit further up the beach.</p><p>“He’s fine,” Yeosang says. “He still has four hearts. Come on.”</p><p>He starts heading down the beach, trusting (<em>hoping</em>) that his stunned crewmates will follow him, and soon enough he sees a human form lying on the sand near the treeline, clad in a familiar bright jacket.</p><p>“YUNHO!” Yeosang calls, thick with relief, and the figure shifts as though waking, and then sits up.</p><p>“What the f—” is all Mingi gets out, just behind Yeosang, before Hongjoong screams, “<em>YUNHO!</em>” And then the whole crew sprints for him, and sure enough, sitting up in the sand, looking confused and unharmed and strangely pleased to be suddenly tackle-hugged by half of his crew, is Yunho.</p><p>“Um…” he says, patting Hongjoong on the back as his captain clings to him. “What just happened?”</p><p>“You re-spawned,” Yeosang says with a smile. “Welcome back. You only have four lives now, so you’ll need to be a bit more careful.”</p><p>“Four lives… what, like… like a vid-game?” Yunho says with a frown.</p><p>Yeosang’s smile turns sharp, a new determination burning in his veins, shoving back the icy memory of Wooyoung’s wary gaze. </p><p>“<em>Exactly </em> like a vid-game,” he says. “And we have to make sure we win."</p><p>*</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>after long last, an update~!</p><p>get some rest, darling mingi - we love you so much. ♡</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mingi hangs back a bit as the crew make their way from the beach into the nearby sparse forest. Hongjoong takes the lead, Seonghwa by his side as always. Yunho follows close behind, within Hongjoong’s reach, where Hongjoong has insisted he stay ever since they found him on the beach, one life down but otherwise apparently no worse for his ordeal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did it hurt?” Jongho asked when they first started making their way into the forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorta?” Yunho said, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “But only for a second. Then it was like I just closed my eyes and ended up further down the beach, waking up the same way we did when we first showed up here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi isn’t sure he trusts that—Yunho seems like the kind of person to hide his own discomfort to keep others from worrying—but he files that concern away for later, focusing instead on a different member of their crew, currently trailing a bit behind the others, quiet and distant and so absorbed in his own thoughts that he catches his foot on a root and almost stumbles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi automatically reaches out to catch him, and Yeosang blinks up at him in surprise, eyes wide and a bit glassy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?” Mingi says quietly, one hand under Yeosang’s elbow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Yeosang says, but there are shadows beneath his eyes, dark against his pale skin, and his attempt at an encouraging smile looks forced. “This world just doesn’t really sit right with me, that’s all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The AR messes with your wiring, doesn’t it?” Mingi says, grim. He expected as much when he started to notice how off kilter Yeosang seemed ever since they ended up on that beach, so distracted and absent, staring at things the rest of them couldn’t see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s… not great,” Yeosang says. “But hey, at least I can help us out when I have to, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t wear yourself out, though, okay?” Mingi says. “You being able to code is helpful, but not if it’s gonna put you out of commission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine, Mingi.” Yeosang’s smile is a bit more genuine this time, warmer; more like the Yeosang Mingi has gotten to know over the past few months. “But thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop touching it!” The sudden yell comes from Wooyoung, a little ways ahead of them, sounding petulant as he fusses over San, who is still nursing a wound in his side. “It’ll get infected.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can fake wounds even get infected?” Jongho asks; he sounds casual, but the way he’s hovering beside San betrays his concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It still hurts pretty badly for a fake wound, so yeah, probably,” San says, wincing as he pulls his hand away from the bloody slice in his side, dark blood staining his soft yellow sweater. “And who knows where that thing’s claws have been?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ya, Yeosangie!” Wooyoung calls over his shoulder, and Mingi notes the way that Yeosang perks up at the nickname, his eyes brightening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think you can code up some sort of healing potion or something for San?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi sees a flicker of panic cross Yeosang’s handsome features, but it’s replaced by an encouraging smile as Yeosang finally pulls away from Mingi to stand on his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see what I can do,” he says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all pause near a small cluster of wide-trunked trees with heavy, fronded leaves. Wooyoung helps San sit near the base of one of the trees, and the rest of them take up position around them, forming a natural protective circle, everyone a bit on edge after losing Yunho so suddenly, if only for a few minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think you’ll be able to just code something out of midair?” Hongjoong asks, watching Yeosang closely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t know until I try,” Yeosang says with a tight smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi squeezes Yeosang’s shoulder, then steps back to give him some space. Mingi ends up beside Yunho, who leans close, eyes bright with worry and fixed on Yeosang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he doing okay?” Yunho asks, keeping his voice pitched low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure,” Mingi says, just as quiet. “I don’t think the AR is playing well with his systems. He’s putting on a brave face, but I can tell something’s off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho purses his lips. “We need a way off this planet, and fast,” he mutters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we’re all in agreement on that,” Mingi says. He glances at the console on his wrist, that blinking pink heart, so deceptively cheerful. “I don’t want to find out what happens when one of us runs out of lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully we never get there,” Yunho says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeosang, meanwhile, crouches in front of San, and Mingi notes the way Yeosang’s gaze turns hazy, focused inwards, clearly trying to see the code swimming in the air all around them. The idea that they’re just walking around surrounded by computer code—that they might be no more than computer code themselves—makes Mingi feel strangely itchy. He shoves that thought away and instead watches Yeosang, the way his fingers twitch and lift to his wrist console, fluttering over the little datapad at a distinctly inhuman speed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I found something,” Yeosang says, his voice vague and dreamy, and then a small forest-green bottle with a wax stopper shimmers into existence on the ground between him and San, teetering for a moment before settling merrily into the grass, as though it had been there all along. Mingi sees something scuttle, glittering, across the bottle’s ceramic surface, and he wonders if maybe that was some of the code that Yeosang has been seeing all along, but then Yeosang lets out a low breath and slumps to the side, and Mingi leaps forward to catch him before he topples over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy,” Mingi says, taking Yeosang’s weight, and he’s relieved to see that Yeosang is still conscious, if a little dazed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Yeosang says, and waves off Wooyoung with a smile when Wooyoung reaches for him, looking panicked. “Just a little woozy.” He indicates the bottle with his chin. “Try the potion. It seems like it’s a remnant of the original game; I found it buried in some old code.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure you’re okay?” San says, a rather funny question coming from the man still bleeding onto the grass, but his concern seems genuine, and Mingi feels a surge of fondness for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just try it, please,” Yeosang says, sounding exasperated, a familiar echo of his usual self.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung grabs the little bottle and wrestles with the stopper for a moment before he finally manages to pop it out with his teeth. He spits the stopper onto the grass, smells the opening of the bottle, and immediately turns away to retch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Yeosang, this is foul,” he coughs, lifting the back of his hand to his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t blame me, I just found it,” Yeosang says. He’s still leaning against Mingi’s side, but Mingi can tell that he’s pleased, more relaxed than he has been since they all awoke. “And it’s not for smelling, it’s for keeping San from getting hurt any worse than he already is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just do it, come on,” San says, lifting his sweater with a grimace, revealing the gash along his ribs. Luckily, it doesn’t look too deep, but the edges are an angry red, and there’s enough blood smeared over San’s skin that Mingi has to look away, his stomach swooping unpleasantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s hope this works.” Wooyoung tips the bottle over his fingers and taps out a healthy dollop of a dark brown liquid that is somehow both viscous and gritty. Wooyoung leans in over San’s torso, and then hesitates for a second, his fingers poised over San’s wound, glancing up at San’s face. “You ready?” he says, his voice soft, and San nods once, forcing a tight-lipped smile. Wooyoung pats San’s thigh with his clean hand, and then smears the brown goop over the gash in San’s side. San lets out a choked sound of pain, throwing his head back, but he doesn’t pull away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wooyoung—” Hongjoong steps forward, his brow knit and face pale, but then San gasps, and Wooyoung lets out a low cry of shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit,” Wooyoung says, and he swipes his hand over the brown goop on San’s skin, swiping it off to reveal— </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No bleeding gash, no angry red skin, not even a scar. San’s side is entirely unmarred but for some smeared blood and what remains of the brown, gritty goo that Wooyoung smeared onto his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not—is that possible?” Seonghwa asks, sounding breathless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in a vid-game, hyung,” Yunho says, staring wide-eyed at San’s side. “I think most things are possible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice job, coding master,” Jongho says, ruffling Yeosang’s hair fondly, and Yeosang smiles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you feel?” he asks San, who finally looks away from where his wound used to be, beaming at Yeosang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” San says. “Good as new, honestly. Thanks, Yeosang. Stop that,” he adds to Wooyoung, who has started to poke at San’s side in apparent wonder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, we’re keeping this,” Wooyoung says, wiping his hand on the grass before grabbing the stopper and putting it carefully back into the mouth of the bottle. “Seonghwa-hyung, you hang onto it, you’re responsible.” He holds the bottle up, and Seonghwa steps forward to take it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re back to full,” Hongjoong mumbles, so low that Mingi barely catches it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that, hyung?” Mingi says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong is staring at his wrist console. He taps it, looking thoughtful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sani was down by a quarter heart,” he says. “He’s back up to full now.” Hongjoong looks at Yeosang, eyes calculating. “Yeosang, I want you to rest for now, but we could use some more of that miracle potion, once you’re up to it. We have no idea what else might be waiting for us here, but healing potion like that would be invaluable. Do you think you could get us more?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeosang nods, squeezing Mingi’s hand before he gets to his feet, wobbling just barely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, captain,” Yeosang says, and Hongjoong smiles at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right then,” he says. “Let’s keep moving. The sun is starting to set, and I want to find some kind of shelter before it gets fully dark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho has to shove his hands into his pockets the fourth time he finds himself touching his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s not that it hurts. It’s not tender, or tingly, or numb. In fact, even stranger, it’s like nothing ever happened, like Yunho might as well have just imagined a talon bursting through his chest, that brief, searing pain, the shock as he looked down and realized what happened. His chest is entirely unmarked, his heart and lungs seeming to work just fine. He doesn’t even feel particularly tired, not the way he would expect to if his body were trying to heal itself from a near fatal (</span>
  <em>
    <span>actually fatal</span>
  </em>
  <span>) wound. He remembers nothing after that first moment of agony, nothing but a flash of pain, and then darkness, and then waking up to his crewmates piling on top of him, hugging him tightly, voices choked with relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho glances at his wrist console. The four glowing blue hearts pulse at him, eerily merry, considering what they represent. There’s a part of him—the scientific part, the part that enjoys vid-games and puzzles and brain teasers—that wants desperately to know what happens once the hearts run out, but a larger part of him hopes that they never find out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling?” Yeosang steps close to Yunho as they make their way through the palm forest, pitching his voice low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Yunho says with a smile, but then he pauses, his hand brushing his chest again. “I mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>physically</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’m fine, but I still feel kind of… weird, ya know? Like I should be more affected by what happened, but instead I just ended up kind of… numb.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeosang’s eyes are warm with sympathy. “It’s understandable to feel weird.” He shrugs. “For all your brain knows, you died, and our brains aren’t exactly programmed to handle death and resurrection like that, no matter what kind of AR vid-game we’re in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that… makes sense.” Yunho frowns, presses a hand to his chest for a moment, and then focuses on Yeosang again, taking in the shadows beneath his eyes. “What about you? Are you doing okay? Do you need to rest?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’ll be fine, really, I just—” Yeosang cuts himself off, and Yunho notes the way Yeosang’s gaze flicks to the front of their group, to where Seonghwa and Wooyoung are walking together, talking in low voices. Yeosang ducks his head, but not before Yunho catches a self-deprecating smile. “I feel bad about what happened to you, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Yunho blinks. “Why? It wasn’t your fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not, but I should have acted faster to try and help you, rather than just writing you off as a lost life in a vid-game.” Yeosang fiddles with is own wrist console, tapping the screen, swiping past his own glowing green hearts to the screen that shows them all, five pulsing hearts each, save Yunho. “I just… I was so distracted trying to confirm my theories that this world was </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fake</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that I didn’t even realize how strange it might seem to everyone else that I didn’t immediately panic when you were—when you—” He breaks off, shaking his head. “Never mind. I suppose I’m just a bit afraid that I came off as slightly less human than intended, for a couple minutes there.” Yeosang shoots Yunho a wretched smile that makes Yunho’s heart twist. “Too many wires, too little heart, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t know,” Yunho says fiercely. “Yeosang, you can’t believe that. Everyone’s just nervous and scared, no one thinks any less of you for having a moment of panic. If anything, that makes you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> human. And there’s nothing you could have done, anyway, I was already—” Yunho breaks off, not quite able to say it, before forging on. “It’s fine. Really. Please don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ve already proven that you’re indispensable. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.” Yunho reaches out to grasp Yeosang’s shoulder, squeezing. “Okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeosang smiles, small but warm. “Okay. Thank you, Yunho-ya.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re welcome,” Yunho says, grinning. “Now tell me more about the code you see. Is it just, like, hanging out in the air? Or is it </span>
  <em>
    <span>in</span>
  </em>
  <span> things? Is there code in us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Partially,” Yeosang says. “There are parts of us that are largely code—the clothes we’re wearing, for example, and the wristbands, but most of the code is in the environment. I first noticed it in the ocean, then on the sand, and then on those creatures that attacked us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does it look like?” Yunho asks, fascinated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeosang’s brow furrows. “It’s… glittery? It kind of looks like insects, sometimes, flittering over the surface of whatever has been coded. From what little I’ve been able to gather thus far, the more complex a feature is in the game, the more code there is. So these trees—” Yeosang points up at the palm-frond canopy above them, filtering the late afternoon sunlight. “—they’re pretty simple, since they’re basically just set pieces in the world, but the wristbands, and the spider-creatures, and—” Yeosang breaks off, eyes narrowing at something ahead of them. “And that…” He squints, clearly trying to make out whatever caught his eye, and then his eyes go wide in horror, and he screams, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>WOOYOUNG-AH!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho jolts, and his gaze snaps to the front of their group, where he sees Wooyoung looking back at them in confusion, his hand poised to push aside a large, scarlet-flowered plant in their path.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wooyoung, don’t—” Yeosang says, but as Wooyoung lowers his hand, his fingers brush the petal of one of the scarlet flowers, and suddenly the flower erupts, covering the front half of their group in a thick, cloying cloud of bloodred pollen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Yunho says, racing forward to help them, Yeosang by his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung is covered from head to toe in the stuff, doubled over and gagging, and Seonghwa—who was walking right beside him—is no better off, coughing red dust into his elbow. San and Jongho are similarly coated, albeit largely on one side each; Yunho suspects they at least had time to try and turn away when the flower sprayed them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is this?” Hongjoong says, voice tight with barely restrained panic as he and Mingi start frantically trying to brush the pollen off of Seonghwa and Wooyoung. “Are you guys okay? Can you breathe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-not really,” Seonghwa gasps, his voice raw. “Water?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember seeing a pond nearby,” Yeosang says, pulling up the map on his console, “but the clearing it’s in looked… off, somehow. More than just being coded, I don’t know—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there anywhere else we could get water?” Mingi asks, using both hands to ruffle some of the red pollen from Wooyoung’s hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so,” Yeosang says, clearly distraught. “Look, just—we can try it, but be careful, okay? It’s probably our best bet, but I still don’t trust it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyung, it’s—” Wooyoung breaks off to cough again; his eyes are squeezed shut, his face still covered in pollen despite his attempts to rub it off. “It’s everywhere, can we please just—?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s give it a shot,” Hongjoong says, grabbing Seonghwa tightly by the elbow. “At the very least, I think I trust water more than whatever the hell this pollen is. We have to get it off them somehow.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They each take one of their pollen-covered crewmates by the arm and start leading them in the direction Yeosang indicated, which is how Yunho ends up with Jongho leaning heavily against his side, still coughing, smearing noxious red pollen all over Yunho’s sleeve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hang in there, Jongho-ya,” Yunho says softly. “We’re almost there.” But his heart is in his throat, because even though he’s not covered in it, the pollen smells </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and who knows how much they all inhaled, or what it might do. Is it a poison? A hallucinogenic? Did Wooyoung just stumble against Yeosang because he can’t see, or because the pollen has started to affect him somehow? Is San retching because there’s pollen in his throat, or is it evidence of something worse?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reach the pond soon enough, in a pleasant little clearing surrounded by gently swaying palm fronds and flowering plants that Yunho side-eyes in a way he might not have a few minutes ago. There’s a small thatched-roof hut beside the pond, windows dark and apparently empty, but Yunho keeps his eye on it as they all approach the water. He suspects it’s not as innocent as it seems.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeosang-ah,” Hongjoong says, his voice tight. “Can you sense anything in the water that we might need to watch out for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeosang shakes his head, but his brow is dark with worry as he stares at the seemingly calm surface of the pond.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not that I can tell, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Just—be careful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong presses his lips together and nods, then takes a deep breath and wades slowly into the water with Seonghwa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here,” he says, and his voice is softer, as he addresses Seonghwa, in a way that Yunho has come to expect in his years traveling with the two of them. Hongjoong stoops to wet his hand, keeping one supporting hand on Seonghwa’s elbow. He lifts his wet hand to Seonghwa’s face and starts gently wiping the red pollen from his cheeks, his forehead, his eyes. “Does it hurt?” he asks, quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa shakes his head, his eyes still squeezed shut. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no,” he says, half-choked. “It’s just—everywhere.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong turns to the rest of his crew. “Okay.” He sounds a bit breathless, and his voice is trembling ever so slightly. “Let’s get them cleaned off. Stick to the shallows. I don’t want to risk going any deeper than we have to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho leads Jongho carefully into the water. It seeps into his shoes, dampens the hem of his pants, but it’s warm enough, the shallows kept heated by the tropical sun. Yunho bends to cup water in his hands and brings it up to Jongho’s face, trickling it over the side of his face that’s coated in the thick red pollen. The pollen starts running, looking eerily like blood as it drips down Jongho’s face. Jongho joins Yunho in splashing water onto his own face and neck, and as soon as his face is mostly clean, he leans down to scoop some of the water into his mouth, rinsing thoroughly before spitting back into the water, which has become creepily red-tinged as they all rinse off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everybody doing okay?” Hongjoong asks after a minute or so of quiet washing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so,” Wooyoung says, and his voice sounds thick and rough, but his face is largely clear of pollen, now just a bit red from scrubbing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t feel woozy?” Mingi says, still with one hand firmly wrapped around San’s bicep; he looks a bit pale himself, but Yunho suspects part of that might be because of how the water mixed with the pollen makes San look rather like he’s suffered a major head wound. “Nauseous? In any pain?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No pain.” San leans over to splash some water over his hair and then shakes his head, spraying pollen-stained droplets into the air. “Maybe a little light-headed? But that could just be from trying not to breathe for a few minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you ingest any of the pollen?” Yeosang says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m sure I did,” Jongho says with a grimace, splashing some water over his neck and jaw, trying to get more of the pollen off of his skin. “My mouth was wide open when that little shit went off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you don’t feel any different?” Yunho asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet,” Jongho says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seonghwa.” Hongjoong’s voice is quiet, tense. Yunho glances over at him; Hongjoong has his fingers curled tightly into Seonghwa’s sleeve and his gaze fixed firmly on Seonghwa’s face, but Seonghwa is looking at the little hut, his eyes eerily glazed and distant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a light in the window now,” Seonghwa murmurs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Yunho looks at the hut, but it’s still dark, the windows shuttered tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Jongho steps around Yunho in the shallows, edging closer to the hut, his eyes also locked on it. “You’re right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Mingi says, starting to look a bit panicked. “There’s no light, it’s just—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, they’re right,” says Wooyoung, and his eyes are fixed on the hut now, too, similarly entranced. “I think… I think we should check it out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No.” Yunho grasps Jongho’s wrist, holding him fast as he tries to step past Yunho. “You’re not going anywhere, not until we figure out what’s going on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we have to go to the light,” San says, dazedly, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and it’s his conviction that sends a shiver down Yunho’s spine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one is ‘going to the light,’” Hongjoong snaps, fear making his voice sharp, and Yunho can see that his grip on Seonghwa’s arm is white-knuckled now. “Come on, let’s get out of the water and regroup away from this clearing. There’s no reason for us to stay here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hongjoong-ah,” Seonghwa says, and his voice sounds a bit clearer now, which is almost more unsettling. “Let us go. We have to—the game wants us to go to the hut. I don’t—” Seonghwa’s fingers twitch, and his arm jerks in Hongjoong’s grip, trying to get away. “I don’t know if the game will let us move on without it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Why not?” Mingi has both arms wrapped around San now, holding him tight to his chest. San is still staring spellbound at the hut, but his head cocks slightly to the side, like he’s trying to force himself to look away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at the door.” Yeosang’s voice is hushed, weary. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho looks at the door of the hut and finally notices, with a sinking heart, what Yeosang must have just seen: Painted on the front door of the hut, just above the carved handle, is an intricate, blood-red blossom that looks exactly like the one that Wooyoung touched in the forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s part of the game,” Yunho breathes, and then Jongho breaks free from his grip, heading for the door. Yunho tries to grab him again, but Jongho shrugs off his hand, climbing out of the shallows and heading for the hut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think it’ll hurt us,” Jongho calls over his shoulder. “It just feels like a pull? Like this is our next step.” He pauses near the door, looking back at them. “Look, my head feels clearer just being closer to the door, so I think you have to let them go. They won’t stop trying to get away, and the pull will just get stronger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong looks like there is nothing he would like less at that moment than to let Seonghwa go, but he sets his jaw and releases his hold on Seonghwa’s arm, and Seonghwa immediately staggers forward, heading for the hut. Yeosang relents next, reluctantly dropping Wooyoung’s arm, and then only Mingi is left, still clutching San tight to his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mingi-ya,” San says quietly, voice strained, lifting a shaky hand to pat Mingi’s arm, and Mingi sighs, squeezing San once more before letting him go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really think it’s safe?” Hongjoong says, watching as Jongho, Seonghwa, Wooyoung, and San all gather near the hut. They make a strange group, dripping wet and still stained red from the pollen, but their eyes look much clearer than they did when they were trying to resist the hut’s call, and that’s enough to make Yunho feel at least a bit better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea,” Seonghwa says, forcing a smile. “But I think we have to see what’s inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate this,” Mingi mutters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Seonghwa says. “Hopefully it won’t take long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, hyung, why would you say that?” Wooyoung says. “Now you’ve doomed us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongho elbows him, making Wooyoung wince.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, let’s just get this over with,” Jongho says, reaching for the door handle. He pauses just before his hand makes contact with the wood, and he glances over at the rest of the crew, still standing frozen in the shallows of the pond. He forces a smile. “We’ll be back soon,” he says, bracingly, and then he turns to Wooyoung, says, “Don’t say it,” opens the door, and steps inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seonghwa takes a deep breath, glances back at them all once more, and then follows, and San and Wooyoung head in after, hands linked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, it’s quiet, just the wind in the trees and the gentle lapping of waves on the pond. The doorway remains dark; Yunho can barely even see inside, as though a shadowy curtain has been pulled across the doorway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we… maybe go keep an eye on them?” Mingi asks, taking a hesitant step towards the hut, but before any of them can respond, a tinkling chime echoes through the air, and then the door slams shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No—” Hongjoong scrambles out of the pond and races for the closed door. He yanks on the handle, rattles the door, pounds his fist on the solid wood. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>SEONGHWA! JONGHO-YA!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho stares in shock at the dark hut, his heart racing, and then he lifts his wrist console, swiping to the team screen. He feels a surge of relief as soon as he sees full hearts for the whole crew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not hurt,” he says, but Hongjoong is still pounding on the door, hollering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>SAN-AH! WOOYOUNG-AH!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyung,” Yunho says, pitching his voice louder as he finally wades out of the pond, “they’re not hurt. They all still have full heart counts. We might just have to wait.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong deflates, shoulders slumping. He leans forward, resting his forehead against the closed door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate this place,” he grumbles, and Yunho steps forward to place a hand on his shoulder, gripping tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, hyung,” he says. “We’ll get out of here soon. We’ll figure it out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re still in the hut for now.” Yeosang joins them near the door, Mingi at his heels, looking like a damp, sullen, overgrown puppy. Yeosang has his own console open to the map feature, and he shows the rest of them the screen, which shows all eight of their colored dots in the same clearing. “Let’s just settle in to wait. We can get some rest while they finish up whatever it is they’re doing in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hongjoong nods and reluctantly pulls away from the door, giving it one last forlorn look. They all end up settled on the grass in front of the little hut, Yunho and Mingi near the door, Yeosang and Hongjoong sitting cross-legged in front of them, shoulders hunched and eyes downcast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho leans back against the sun-warmed wood beside the hut’s front door, letting his head thunk gently against the wall. He stares up at the cerulean sky, the wispy clouds, the slowly setting sun. It looks peaceful, real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho truly wishes it were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long do you think they’ll be?” Mingi says quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea.” Yunho sighs and rubs his hand over his hair. “You could probably try and nap, if you want to. I’ll wake you as soon as they—”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>THNK.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho and Mingi spring apart as an arrow lodges into the hut right between their heads, fletched with gleaming violet feathers, quivering from the impact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What th—” is all Yunho manages to get out before another arrow shudders into the ground at his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In seconds, they’re all standing with their backs to the hut, eyes on the treeline. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s there?” Hongjoong calls, voice sharp. “Show yourself!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t want to fight!” Yunho calls. Hongjoong fixes him with a narrow look, and Yunho just shrugs and mutters, “What? I don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s silence for a moment—no more arrows, no movement in the trees—and then Yunho hears an unfamiliar female voice call out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many of you are there?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho glances at Hongjoong, who looks to each of them in turn, eyebrows raised in question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we just be honest?” Mingi suggests in a hushed voice, and Hongjoong squeezes his eyes shut for a moment before turning back to the trees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eight,” he calls, grudgingly. “There are eight of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence again, and then out of the shadows near a few tall palm trees step two women, one with dark brown hair, the other with black hair streaked with silver, both clad in dark clothes and tall boots. The woman with brown hair has two sheathed blades slung over her back and a delicate silver chain draped across her face; the woman with silver-streaked hair carries a gracefully arced longbow, still nocked with a violet-fledged arrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They pause beside the pond, watching the crew warily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s the rest of your group?” asks the black-haired woman, icy blue eyes narrowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In there,” Yeosang says, jerking a thumb at the hut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” The brown-haired woman’s shoulders slump. “You triggered the flower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yunho steps forward, frowning. “How did you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And no one else has gone through that door?” says the brown-haired woman. “You haven’t seen any other players around?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Hongjoong says. “You’re the first people we’ve seen since we arrived.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long have you been here?” asks the black-haired woman, lowering her bow slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It hasn’t even been a full day,” says Hongjoong, sounding exasperated. “Look, can you just—can we back up for a second? Who are you? Do you know where we are?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The women make eye contact for a moment, and then the brown-haired woman gives a small shrug before turning back to face them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re on Esti, in the Makarian system,” she says. “More specifically, you’re in R.o.S.E., a one-of-a-kind alternate reality adventure game that spans the entire planet.” She spreads her hands and flashes them an oddly bitter smile. “Welcome.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is Siyeon,” says the black-haired woman, “and this is—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SuA,” the brown-haired woman says, flashing her comrade a sharp look. “You can call me SuA.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Hongjoong,” Hongjoong says, “and this is Yunho, Yeosang, and Mingi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you get here?” asks SuA. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… we have no idea,” Hongjoong says. “We were searching for a couple of lost kids in this system and somehow just—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something took over our ship.” Yeosang’s voice is quiet, his gaze dark. “It knocked us out, and then we woke up here.” He shakes his head. “I have no idea how much time passed between our ship getting hijacked and us ending up on that beach.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Siyeon finally removes the arrow from her bow, slipping it back into the quiver slung across her shoulders. “Yeah, she… does that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘She’?” Mingi says, brow creasing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Hongjoong’s voice is sharp. “You knew about the flower. You knew that was why half of our crew had to go through that door, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” SuA says, carefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know what they’re doing in there right now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a side quest,” SuA says. “They’re probably solving some riddles, and when they’re done with that, they’ll pass through another doorway and re-spawn at a different save point further north of here, closer to the mountains.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’ll—they’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yeosang looks pale, his eyes wide. “You mean they won’t be able to come back out this way?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” SuA says, looking a bit surprised by the question. “By triggering that flower trap and stepping through the doorway, they’ve branched out into a different path, so—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?” Yunho demands again, his fists clenching. “How do you know so much about the mechanics of this world?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because she coded it,” Siyeon snaps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Siyeon-ah,” SuA says, a warning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? You did. It doesn’t hurt for some random group of travelers to know that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you… you created this game?” Mingi says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t just me.” SuA sounds tired, her eyes melancholic. “I had help. From Siyeon, and our other friends, and—” She breaks off, shakes her head quickly. “It doesn’t matter. Look, you want to find your friends, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Yunho says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can help. I know exactly where they’ll be. We can show you the easiest way to get there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t we just do the flower thing ourselves?” Hongjoong asks, waving a hand in the vague direction of the flower Wooyoung ran into.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, no,” SuA says. “This particular side quest only resets itself every few months. No one else will be able to trigger it until another flower blooms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was actually why we were waiting,” Siyeon says quietly. “We thought that maybe this time—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>SuA places a hand on Siyeon’s shoulder, cutting her off. They exchange a heavy glance, and Yunho wonders what lies unsaid there, what secrets they’re hiding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll help you find your friends,” SuA says. “But I can’t guarantee that they’ll be safe, nor that you will be. This world has grown a mind of its own recently, but we’ll help you as much as we can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, it’s grown a mind of its own?” Yeosang asks, his voice wary. “It’s a program, right? It should follow certain paths, certain storylines.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And it did, in the beginning, but unfortunately, the AI has been evolving,” SuA says grimly. “It’s becoming more violent. Sometimes deadly.” She smiles humorlessly, and Yunho’s skin prickles; he’s seen plenty of grizzled old GU officers wear similar expressions when they speak about their years in the service, generally when they’ve lived through a war or two. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“R.o.S.E. is no longer just a tourist trap, gentlemen,” SuA continues, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s a real one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>AND WE FINALLY GOT TO THE REVEAL OF MAH GIRLS! OWO</p><p>i've been sitting on that for <i>ages</i> oh my goodness i'm so excited they're here.</p><p>thank you so much for reading - please consider leaving a comment or some kudos, if you enjoyed it!</p><p>(also quick little update: i changed the names of the boys ateez were hired to find in the first chapter. the first cameos i picked didn't really feel baby enough for what i was picturing, so i changed it up - just noting here so there's no confusion later! ♡)</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>we back, buddies! and the end is in sight!</p><p>a bit of a longer chapter this time around - enjoy~!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The inside of the hut is… quaint. </p><p>Jongho isn’t sure what he expected upon stepping through the door, but it definitely wasn’t a small kitchen, a neatly made cot in the far corner, and a cozy furnished living area complete with a crackling fireplace and woven rug. Dust motes dance in the sunbeams near the windows, and the air smells like wood and resin, warm and inviting. </p><p>“Huh,” Wooyoung says, looking around with raised eyebrows. “Not exactly intimidating, is it?”</p><p>“Is it meant to be?” Seonghwa says, lifting his eyes to the ceiling, where Jongho spies some thick vines curled around the wooden rafters above their heads, the forest apparently having snuck its way into the abandoned hut. “Or is it trying to lure us into a false sense of security?”</p><p>The door slams shut behind them, blocking out a decent amount of the light in the room and making them all jump.</p><p>“I’m betting on a false sense of security,” Wooyoung says. His hand is still entwined with San’s, and despite his casual tone, his grip on San’s hand is white-knuckled, fingernails pale where they dig into the skin of San’s hand. San seems unfazed by the death-grip on his hand, instead focusing a narrow gaze on something across the room, near the fireplace. He jerks his chin towards it.</p><p>“I think that might be our first clue,” he says.</p><p>A large leather-bound tome sits on a rickety lectern just in front of the fireplace beside an ancient bronze telescope, illuminated by a ray of sunlight shining down from a hole in the roof. Jongho steps over to the book with caution, keeping an eye on the walls, the windows, the closed door, ready for a trap to spring upon them at any moment, but the hut remains serene. The book’s cover is navy blue and worn, the pages browned and crimping at the edges. There’s no title on the cover, no markings of any kind to indicate what the pages inside might contain, and Jongho finds himself oddly reluctant to touch it, his nerves singing.</p><p>“I don’t mean to alarm anyone,” Seonghwa says, “but the front door is gone.”</p><p>“What?” Wooyoung’s voice rings too loud in the small cabin, and Jongho turns to confirm that the door they just walked through has vanished entirely, leaving behind only a blank wooden wall. </p><p>“So how do we—?” San breaks off as he catches sight of something over Jongho’s shoulder. “Jongho-ya,” he says, and Jongho turns back to the book, which now lies open upon the lectern, revealing a map of some sort, spread across both pages of the book, dark ink bleeding in the old paper.</p><p>“It’s a map,” Jongho says, because his crewmates are still standing on the other side of the room and might not be able to see.</p><p>“A map of what?” Seonghwa asks.</p><p>Jongho shakes his head, frowning down at the map. It doesn’t look familiar, not that he expected it to, having only really seen maps in history classes way back when he was a child, and those only of old Terran colonies and settled galaxies, moons and solar systems and GU-sanctioned territories. </p><p>“I don’t know,” he says. “Maybe the island we’re on? But I can’t be sure.” </p><p>“Is there anything written on it?” Wooyoung asks.</p><p>“Yeah, at the top, it says…” Jongho squints at the small font, trying to make sense of the intricate letters. It looks like calligraphy, barely legible, but even as he stares at it, the font starts to shift, and eventually transforms into words he can recognize—some sort of translation software at work, he supposes. “Okay,” he says, “it says, ‘If another door ye seek, these riddles must you play. A clue will grow from small antique, but only one can stay.’”</p><p>“What the hell does that mean?” Wooyoung says.</p><p>“I think we have to solve riddles before we can get out of here,” Seonghwa says, sounding resigned.</p><p>“Can’t we just, like… bust through a window?” Wooyoung asks. He drops San’s hand and walks over to one of the little glass-paned windows, scooping up a small, decorative bronze globe from an end table on his way. He hefts the little globe in his hand, then heaves it straight at the window. Jongho braces for the crash, or at least a rebound, but instead the bronze globe sails straight through the window, the glass wavering like a mirage as it passes through.</p><p>This time, it’s San’s turn to say, “Huh.”</p><p>Wooyoung stares at the window for a moment, then kicks at it. His foot hits the glass with a resounding <em>crack</em>, but the window remains unmarred, and Wooyoung ends up hopping backwards, cursing.</p><p>“Let’s try solving the riddle instead, shall we? We can do riddles, riddles sound like fun,” San says, stepping into the living room to stand beside Jongho, looking down at the map. “‘A clue will grow from small antique…’” San looks around the living area. “There are a lot of antiques here. The book, the telescope, that magnifying glass, the hourglass… How’re we supposed to know which one is right?” </p><p>“It’s the magnifying glass,” Seonghwa says from behind them. Jongho glances at him, eyebrows raised, and Seonghwa shrugs. “It makes things grow.” He walks over to the fireplace and lifts the old magnifying glass from the mantel, hefting it by its carved wooden handle. “Is there any smaller text on that page?” </p><p>Jongho looks down at the map and, sure enough, curling around the curve of what looks like a river, march tiny words, so small they could easily be overlooked as decorative details on the map. </p><p>“Here,” Jongho says, pointing to the text along the river. Seonghwa tosses the magnifying glass to San, who leans over the book beside Jongho, peering at the text through the glass.</p><p>“Nice,” San says, and then reads, “‘Clue one is complete if you’ve found these lines, now the youngest must stay, for the rest, the—’ oh, <em>shit</em>—” San drops the magnifying glass, his gaze immediately turning to the vines curled on the ceiling above them, and before Jongho even realizes what’s happening, San’s feet are dragged out from under him, sending him sprawling, his head cracking against the wood floor, and then he is hoisted towards the ceiling by his ankles, thick vines curling up his legs, binding them together as he struggles. </p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” Seonghwa says, and then he bolts for the kitchen while Jongho lunges for San, wrapping his arms around San’s chest in an attempt to pull him down before he gets hoisted too high. San fumbles to remove the vines from his legs, now creeping over his thighs, his hips. Jongho can see that his jaw is clenched with pain; there’s blood in San’s dark hair from where his head hit the floor.</p><p>“<em>SAN-AH!</em>” Wooyoung rushes over, eyes wide, reaching for his partner.</p><p>“Cut them,” Seonghwa snaps, back from the kitchen, and shoves the hilt of a large knife into Wooyoung’s hand. “Jongho-ya, pull him lower,” Seonghwa tells Jongho, and Jongho nods tightly, straining to keep the vines from lifting San any closer to the ceiling. Seonghwa clambers onto the little coffee table and reaches up to start sawing at the vines above San’s feet. Wooyoung dumps some knick-knacks that Jongho hopes they won’t need for future riddles off of another table and then climbs onto it, wobbling slightly before he too starts carving at the vines, a bit higher than Seonghwa, who has already managed to saw through two of the thick, twisting vines, which fall limply to the ground at Jongho’s feet.</p><p>“Be ready to catch him,” Seonghwa says, his voice tight as he slices through another vine, which wriggles in a strange sort of death spasm before slipping down San’s body and smacking into the floor. Wooyoung saws through two of the vines, three, four, and then there’s only one left, twisted tightly around both of San’s ankles.</p><p>“Now,” Wooyoung says, and then he hacks through the last vine, and San lets out a grunt as he tumbles into Jongho, who manages to catch him in a half-embrace, both of them toppling to the floor.</p><p>They’re all breathing heavily afterwards, frozen for a second, the shock of the sudden attack still not quite settled.</p><p>“You okay, San-ah?” Seonghwa says, his hand still clenched around the hilt of a butcher knife. </p><p>“For now,” San says, breathlessly, still clinging to Jongho on the ground. There is blood on his face, trickling from his hairline. “But it’ll try again, if that riddle is right,” he says. “I don’t know if we can stop it, we might have to—”</p><p>Something rustles above them, and Jongho looks up just as more vines whip down from the beams above them, aiming for Seonghwa, San, and Wooyoung. Jongho tightens his grip on San, but a vine snakes between them, twisting around San’s waist and chest, yanking him up and out of Jongho’s grip. San lets out a surprised yelp as he finds himself lifted into the air again, and Jongho desperately grasps at whatever part of him he can, managing to latch onto San’s right wrist, which he clings to as tightly as possible. Jongho is strong, but the vines are stronger, and Jongho grits his teeth and lets out a grunt as he feels San getting tugged harder, Jongho’s grip starting to slip. He can hear Wooyoung and Seonghwa struggling above them, already captured by vines, and he refuses to let all three of them be taken, he can’t lose them like this, he can’t be alone, he can’t <em>fail them— </em></p><p>“Jongho-ya.” San’s voice is tight. Jongho glances up at him. Fluttering, curling vines have coiled entirely around San’s legs and torso, and even as Jongho watches, a smaller vine starts curling sinuously around San’s throat, not tightly, but enough to make San arch his neck, trying to keep it from taking hold. “I think—I think you have to let me go. They’re just—just restraining us for now, look.” San’s gaze shifts, and Jongho follows him, finding Wooyoung and Seonghwa similarly trussed up by vines near the ceiling, hanging upside down but seemingly unhurt, their shoulders and heads largely free, the vines calm around them. </p><p>“I think the game wants you to do the next riddle on your own,” Seonghwa calls, his voice strained, face a little red.</p><p>Jongho’s heart races. His arm is starting to ache from trying to hold San down.</p><p>“It’s okay,” San says, squeezing Jongho’s wrist. “You can let go.”</p><p>“But—you’re sure?” Jongho says.</p><p>“I mean, no,” San says with a tight smile. “But I think you have to.”</p><p>“I really, truly hate this game,” Jongho grumbles, and then, despite every instinct in his body screaming at him, he lets go of San’s wrist. The vines lift San to the ceiling, where he hangs beside Seonghwa and Wooyoung, the three of them looking a bit like overlarge chrysalides, bound up to their shoulders in thick green vines.</p><p>“Well this is fun,” Wooyoung says dryly. “Can you please solve the next riddle quickly, so we can get down?”</p><p>Jongho gets to his feet and retrieves the magnifying glass from where it fell when San was attacked. Thankfully, the glass remains in tact, and Jongho lets out a shaky breath before he peers at the page again, looking for the tiny text San was reading.</p><p>“‘Clue one is complete if you’ve found these lines,’” Jongho reads again, trying to keep his voice steady. “‘Now the youngest must stay, for the rest, the vines. To the sky look next to escape this room, but dawdle not, or they meet their doom.’”</p><p>“Encouraging,” San grumbles.</p><p>“Wait, so… am I being timed?” Jongho pulls away from the book, eyes wide. “Like I have to solve the riddle within the time limit, or you’ll all die? How the hell am I supposed to do this? That’s barely even a riddle, it’s just—”</p><p>“Jongho-ya.” Seonghwa’s voice is sharp, cutting off Jongho’s panic rambling. “It’ll be fine. Just breathe, and think. It’s saying to look to the sky. What would you use to look to the sky?”</p><p>“My fucking eyes,” Jongho mutters, barely restrained panic making him irritable, but he catches sight of the ancient telescope beside the window, gleaming in the sunlight. “Oh,” he says, stepping over to it. “You think—?”</p><p>“The hourglass,” Wooyoung says suddenly. “The hourglass flipped, I think that’s your timer.”</p><p>Jongho whirls to look at the old hourglass San noted earlier, sitting on the mantel; it upended itself since the last time Jongho looked at it, a glimmering trickle of sand now pooling into the bottom bulb. Jongho’s heart pounds as he turns back to the telescope, his jaw clenched.</p><p>“Okay,” he says. “Okay, we can do this.” He stoops to press his left eye to the eyepiece, half-expecting to end up blinded by the setting sun, but instead he finds himself squinting at what looks like a tiny code, etched into the glass on the window. “There are, uh…” He pauses, trying to make out the message. “Numbers? I think it’s a code.”</p><p>“Read them off,” San calls. He still sounds a bit strained, and Jongho wonders how his head is doing, but he tries not to think too much about that; he’ll worry about possible concussions once they’re out of this stupid hut.</p><p>“84… 57… 03… 22,” Jongho reads, and then he straightens, brow furrowed. “You think it’s for a lock or something?”</p><p>“Might be,” Seonghwa says, his voice tight. Jongho finally looks up at his crewmates, and his stomach drops; the vines have crept up to their necks now, climbing gradually higher as the sand in the hourglass falls, their time running out.</p><p>“Don’t get distracted by us,” Wooyoung says even as he raises his chin, trying to keep the vines from curling any higher around his neck. “Just find where that code goes.”</p><p>“Shit,” Jongho says, but immediately springs to action, shuffling through old papers and knick-knacks on the mantel, on a table by the window, on the bookshelf shoved against the wall near the bed. He drops to his knees and looks beneath the couch, and then the bed, and that’s where he finds a large wooden box, fastened shut with patinated copper locks. Jongho drags the box out from under the bed and turns it over, where he finds a small keypad and a glowing red light. </p><p>“I think I got it!” he calls, and types in the numbers from the glass: 84, 57, 03— He pauses, his skin cold with dread. “Wait, what was the last number?”</p><p>“Twenty-tw—<em>mmph!</em>” San’s voice is muffled, and Jongho can’t help but glance up, his heart sinking as he sees vines curling over San’s mouth, Seonghwa and Wooyoung already similarly gagged. </p><p>Breath coming in short, panicked gasps at the thought of being forced to watch his friends be suffocated, Jongho fumbles to key in 22, and then jabs his finger into the faded <em>Enter</em> button on the keypad. For a single, horrifying moment, nothing happens, and then the little red light on the box turns green, and the copper locks spring open. Jongho scrambles to lift the lid, and finds a small bronze key at the bottom of the box, attached to a torn piece of parchment. Jongho snags the key and reads the riddle on the parchment.</p><p>“‘You’re almost done, just one more step, you need to find your door,’” Jongho recites, his voice and hands shaking. “‘Find the lock to match this key, you’ve seen it once before.’” He stares at the words for a moment, his mind racing. He glances around the hut, looking for any hint, any clue as to what the riddle might be implying, any sign of something that could potentially be seen as a lock… </p><p>“‘You’ve seen it once before,’” Jongho says again, quietly, his hand clenching around the little bronze key. He hazards a glance at the hourglass on the mantel, his heart stuttering when he sees that the sand in the top bulb is almost gone, and then he looks up at his crewmates, almost entirely hidden now by shifting vines, their faces buried, struggles weakening. Jongho looks down at the key in his hand, thinking that maybe he’ll be able to at least try to match the bronze to something else in the room, and then he sees it, carved into the bow of the key: an intricate, blooming flower, the same flower that Wooyoung touched in the forest, and the same one they saw on the front door of the hut.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Jongho says, and then he scans the walls for any sign of the bright red flower and, sure enough, near the back of the hut beside the bookshelf is a painted scarlet blossom, small and delicate, with a keyhole for a pistil. Jongho races for it and slams the bronze key into the little keyhole, twisting it once to the right, like he would if he were unlocking an old fashioned door. Something inside the wall clicks, and a small section of the wall swings open, revealing sunlight and grass and the distant roar of waves on the ocean.</p><p>“I did it,” he breathes, staring at the bright sky outside, and then he turns around, yelling louder, “I did it!”</p><p>The inside of the hut is still for a moment, but just as Jongho is about to start climbing onto the couch to cut his friends down, the vines dip lower and start retreating, slipping away from their captives’ faces, releasing their shoulders, chests, waists, until finally Seonghwa, San, and Wooyoung are dropped onto the wooden floor, dragging in gasps that set them coughing, finally able to breathe again.</p><p>Jongho rushes over, dropping to his knees beside them.</p><p>“You okay?” Jongho asks, feeling a bit weak with relief. He rubs Seonghwa’s back, trying to be comforting as Seonghwa’s breathing starts to even out. </p><p>“F-fine,” Wooyoung says, struggling into a sitting position. “You?”</p><p>“I never want to do that again,” Jongho says, “but I’m okay. Sani-hyung? How’s your head?”</p><p>“Throbbing,” San says, lying flat on his back. He touches the cut at his hairline, winces, and then scowls at the blood on his fingers before turning his wrist over to look at his wrist console, where four and a half purple hearts glow at him. “Damn. All of that cost me a half a heart. I just got that back.”</p><p>“Did we all go down?” Seonghwa asks even as he checks the heart count on his own console. </p><p>“All except Jongho.” San lets his arm flop onto the ground again. “Seems like being briefly suffocated costs about a quarter heart each, and the head wound knocked me down another quarter. Fascinating.”</p><p>“Look, I know that you could probably use some time to recover, but can you please do it outside?” Jongho asks, gesturing at the open doorway behind him. “I’d like to get out of this hut before we’re forced to answer any more riddles.”</p><p>“God, yeah, let’s go,” says Wooyoung, already reaching over to help San get to his feet.</p><p>The sun is just starting to dip towards the treetops when they step outside, and Jongho can tell immediately that something is very wrong. They’re too close to the ocean, for one thing, and as soon as Jongho turns around to look back at the hut, it vanishes, leaving them alone in an unfamiliar field, with mountains rising to their left and the beach to their right.</p><p>“Wait, where are the others?” Wooyoung says. </p><p>Seonghwa narrows his eyes at their surroundings, and then he lifts his wrist console and brings up the holoscreen, tapping first Hongjoong’s name, and then the vid-icon to start a video chat. The screen is black for a few moments, displaying Hongjoong’s name in blinking red font, before the call connects, and Hongjoong’s face appears. He looks stressed, but he breaks into a smile as soon as he sees Seonghwa.</p><p>“Hey,” Hongjoong says, his voice a bit echoey through the comm. “Where are you? Did you get through the riddles okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, we just—” Seonghwa pauses. “Wait, how’d you know there were riddles?”</p><p>“Oh.” Hongjoong’s gaze flicks to something off camera. “We, uh. We kinda ran into some of the developers of the game after you guys went into that hut? And they explained that you went into a kind of mini-game, so—”</p><p>“You met the <em>developers?</em>” Wooyoung shoves his way into the frame, crowding Seonghwa. “What the hell, how? Are they with you right now? Can they—?”</p><p>“Look, we have a lot to go over,” Hongjoong says, “but for now, they’re recommending that we all meet up again before we do a bunch of explaining via comm units. You guys ended up somewhere else entirely, right? Near some mountains?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Seonghwa says. “And we’re near the ocean again, too.”</p><p>Hongjoong looks relieved. “Okay,” he says. “That fits with what they told us. We’re gonna give you a destination on the map, and we’ll meet you all there in a few hours, okay? We can catch up then.”</p><p>“Okay,” Seonghwa says, but Jongho can tell that he’s apprehensive. “Send over the location, and we’ll find you.”</p><p>“Will do,” Hongjoong says. “And you’re all okay, right? We were notified that you lost some hearts, but—”</p><p>“We’re fine,” Seonghwa says. “San is bleeding a bit, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”</p><p>“Wait, why is San bleeding?” That’s Yunho’s voice, distant over the comm unit; Jongho can’t help but smile at how appalled Yunho sounds that any of them have been injured, despite him still being the only one of them to have lost a full life.</p><p>“I just hit my head, Yunho-ya,” San says, peeking over Seonghwa’s shoulder with a smile. “I’ll live.”</p><p>Jongho hears Yunho grumble something, but Hongjoong speaks over him. “We’ll see you guys soon, okay?” Hongjoong says. “I’ll send the coordinates for our meeting place. The devs said it shouldn’t be too much of a hike for you, just over an hour or so.”</p><p>“Noted,” Seonghwa says. “Just… be careful. And stay in touch.”</p><p>“Same to you,” Hongjoong says, his voice low, and then the call disconnects.</p><p>Seonghwa is quiet for a moment after the call ends, and then he lowers his wrist console and lets out a sigh.</p><p>“Well,” he says, but his wrist console pings before he can finish, and then so does Jongho’s, and Wooyoung’s and San’s. Jongho lifts his console and taps on it, opening the map. A small red X has appeared on the map, further along the coast, and beyond that lies a small cluster of colored dots: the rest of their crew.</p><p>“I suppose we’d better get moving,” Seonghwa says, staring down at his own map, and so they do.</p><p>*</p><p>“So what is this meeting place, anyway?” Hongjoong asks, ducking beneath a large palm frond. They’ve been traipsing through the forest for almost an hour now, Siyeon and SuA largely keeping to themselves, and the crew of the <em>Treasure</em> doing the same. The air has grown muggy as evening sets in, and although Hongjoong has yet to actually feel any insects on his skin, he can hear them buzzing around him, and it’s making him itchy.</p><p>“It’s a cave,” SuA responds from a little ways ahead. “I coded it ages ago as an emergency logout point. We haven’t been able to confirm whether it still works, but it seems worth a shot to see if we can get you and your friends out of here.”</p><p>“Oh.” Hongjoong makes eye contact with Yunho, who raises his eyebrows at him, apparently just as surprised as Hongjoong is by the developers’ willingness to help them escape. “That’s—that would be awesome, thank you.”</p><p>“Let’s just hope it still works,” Siyeon says.</p><p>They walk for a few more minutes in comfortable silence, and then Mingi clears his throat.</p><p>“So are there more people like us?” he says. “I mean, people accidentally stuck in the game?”</p><p>“Unfortunately, yes, but not many.” Siyeon runs her fingers through her dark hair, shaking it back from her face. “R.o.S.E. only recently started to pull in nearby ships, so we’ve seen a bit of an influx over the past few weeks. We’re trying to find everyone we can, but it’s a big planet, and we’re not the only ones looking.”</p><p>Hongjoong sees SuA shoot Siyeon a sharp glance at this last comment, but before he can ask about it, Yeosang speaks up.</p><p>“Wait, so you’re not trapped?” Yeosang says. “You came into the game intentionally?”</p><p>“Once we figured out people were getting sucked into the game and trapped against their will, yeah,” Siyeon says. “We’ve been able to get out with a few people at least once, but it’s been getting more and more difficult as R.o.S.E. evolves; she keeps changing the rules of how we can get out. This is our third trip inside since all the trouble started.”</p><p>“How many of you are there, trying to find people?” Yunho asks.</p><p>“Six,” says Siyeon. “Just the original devs.”</p><p>“And you said you’re not the only ones looking… who else is here?” Yeosang asks, his voice grim.</p><p>Siyeon looks to SuA, who presses her lips together for a moment, apparently torn, and then sighs.</p><p>“She was our lead developer, and my friend before we even came to the Markarian system,” SuA says. “She was one of the first to get trapped in the game, and it… changed her.” She pauses, her gaze on the ground. “She’s called the Hunter now.”</p><p>A sense of foreboding shivers down Hongjoong’s spine, as though the game itself were reacting to that name: <em>the Hunter</em>.</p><p>Yunho frowns. “So what does she—?”</p><p>SuA stops suddenly, holding a hand out to halt the rest of the group. </p><p>“Wait,” she says, voice hushed. Hongjoong freezes, listening as the sound of scuffling gradually grows closer, and then something crashes through the brush about twenty feet ahead of them, a large creature with long limbs and a silvery fur coat and a wide, screeching red mouth. Hongjoong immediately staggers back, grasping Yeosang’s arm on his right, Yunho’s on his left, tugging them away from the danger.</p><p>“The hell—?” Mingi says, stepping closer to them, his face pale, and then their escorts leap into action, SuA unsheathing her swords, Siyeon already nocking a violet-fletched arrow into her bow.</p><p>“Stay back,” Siyeon tells them, and then she sprints forward with SuA by her side, heading for the writhing, screeching monster, which is just starting to right itself.</p><p>The bushes beside Yeosang shiver, and Hongjoong automatically drags Yeosang away from it, so quickly that Yeosang stumbles. They watch the bushes with bated breath for a moment, Hongjoong’s heart thudding in his ears, fully prepared to face another monster, but instead, two boys stagger out of the brush, faces dirty and clothes stained, wide-eyed with shock.</p><p>One of them, a tall boy with bright blue hair sticking up in all directions, says, “Holy shit, you’re people.”</p><p>“Uh, yeah,” Mingi says, staring at the boys. “What did you—?”</p><p>“Wonhyuk?” Yeosang’s voice is soft, disbelieving. </p><p>The blue-haired boy blinks. “How do you know my name?” he says.</p><p>“Oh my god,” Yunho says, realizing what Yeosang just said. “Oh my god, you’re the Venusian. Your father hired us to find you and your friend, we came to this system looking for you.”</p><p>Hongjoong stares at Yunho, and then at the boys, his mind reeling as he recalls that god, <em>of course</em>, they first came to this system on a <em>job</em>. He’s been so distracted by the game that he entirely forgot their original goal; it feels like it’s been years since they accepted the job to find the Venusian’s missing son.</p><p>“Wait, he—my father’s looking for us?” Wonhyuk glances at his dark-haired companion—<em>Baekgyeul</em>, Hongjoong recalls from their case details—looking startled. “I thought… we hadn’t heard anything, so I didn’t think that he even—” </p><p>Baekgyeul sets a hand on Wonhyuk’s arm. “How long have we been missing?” he asks, carefully.</p><p>“A few weeks,” Hongjoong says, and then he pauses, uneasiness setting in as Baekgyeul’s question registers. “Why?” he says. “How long do you think you’ve been here?”</p><p>Wonhyuk and Baekgyeul exchange anxious glances.</p><p>“A few months,” Baekgyeul says. “At least. It’s been… a long time.”</p><p>“And you’ve just been here by yourselves?” Yunho says. “Surviving the game?”</p><p>“Not alone,” Wonhyuk says, glancing over to where SuA and Siyeon are still fighting the silver-furred monster. “We’ve had—ah, there they are.”</p><p>Hongjoong follows Wonhyuk’s gaze and sees that two more women have joined SuA and Siyeon in fighting the monster, one woman with long, wavy pink hair, wielding a shimmering silver scythe, and another with shorter dark hair and a long sword, the blade already stained with blood. The fight doesn’t last long after that, the monster’s silvery fur matted with gore, its shrieks turning into dying wails before it finally slumps to the ground, fangs shining in one last snarl as it shudders and goes still.</p><p>The pink-haired woman then turns to pull Siyeon into a hug, and Hongjoong releases his death grip on Yeosang’s and Yunho’s arms, realizing that they’re safe, at least for now.</p><p>“More developers?” Yeosang says.</p><p>“Gahyeon and Dami,” Baekgyeul says with a small smile. “They’ve been lifesavers. That creature was stalking us for at least a day before it finally decided to attack, but they sent it running.”</p><p>“It’s lucky you ran into them,” Mingi says, and Hongjoong can tell there’s mistrust in his voice, but unfortunately, they don’t exactly a choice but to trust their developer escorts for now.</p><p>“I’m Hongjoong,” Hongjoong says to the boys, who both look to him in surprise. “If our escorts are to be believed, we’re heading to an emergency logout point to meet the rest of our crew and hopefully get out of this god-forsaken game.” He holds out a hand to Wonhyuk, putting on his best rakish smile. “You wanna get off this rock with us?”</p><p>Wonhyuk glances at Baekgyeul, who shrugs, and then Wonhyuk grins back at Hongjoong, taking his hand in a tight grip.</p><p>“Hell yeah,” he says.</p><p>*</p><p>Seonghwa glares at the swaying wooden bridge in front of them like it’s his worst enemy.</p><p>“Hyung,” Wooyoung says, squeezing Seonghwa’s hand, “I know you hate heights, but the coordinates are just beyond this bridge, and it’ll take hours to try and find another crossing.”</p><p>“I know,” Seonghwa says, bitterly, but he can’t drag his eyes away from the wooden bridge, the rope railings, the sparkling ocean far below. They could see the canyon coming for about a half hour as they walked towards it, stretching from the coast all the way inland, the ground rising away from the ocean and up to this cliff. Dread brewed like a storm in Seonghwa’s chest until they finally laid eyes on the old wooden bridge, which appeared to be lashed together with luck and a prayer, only managing to stay up through sheer dumb defiance.</p><p>“I don’t know if we want to try climbing down this, hyung,” Jongho says from his place near the cliff edge, peering down to where the river at the bottom of the canyon runs into the ocean. “It’s basically a sheer drop down, and then we’d need to swim all the way across and climb all the way back up. It looks like the climb up would be easier, at least, but I don’t know if it’s worth it.”</p><p>Seonghwa sighs. “It’s fine,” he says. “It’s not real, anyway, it’s all just… code. I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”</p><p>“You want me to go first?” Wooyoung says. “So you can see that it’s safe?” </p><p>Seonghwa hesitates, automatically balking at any suggestion that sounds like they might be splitting up, but then he sighs, shoving down that fear; Wooyoung will still be in sight the whole time.</p><p>“If you don’t mind, that might help,” Seonghwa says, squeezing Wooyoung’s hand before letting him go. “Thanks.”</p><p>“Okay! Let’s go!” Wooyoung crows, and heads for the bridge, not even hesitating before he starts walking across it, gripping both rope railings. The bridge shudders slightly as soon as Wooyoung steps onto it, but holds.</p><p>Seonghwa feels a palm on the small of his back, and San steps up beside him, smiling.</p><p>“Ready?” he says, and Seonghwa sets his jaw.</p><p>“Let’s get this over with,” he says.</p><p>Wooyoung is already halfway across the bridge by the time Seonghwa steps onto it, a few paces behind Jongho, with San just behind him. Seonghwa’s stomach drops as soon as he puts his full weight on the first rickety wooden plank, and he can’t help but look down at the ocean far below, glittering up at him almost mockingly, looking incredibly calm compared to his churning nerves.</p><p>“Don’t look down, hyung-nim,” San calls from behind him, and Seonghwa squeezes his eyes shut, taking another step forward.</p><p>They make progress, but it’s slow, Seonghwa pausing every time a gust of wind makes the bridge sway, San a patient, calming presence behind him. Wooyoung is already waiting for them on the other side of the canyon, and Jongho is pulling further ahead at the halfway point when Seonghwa hears the first crack.</p><p>He stops in his tracks, heart pounding, eyes wide with fear. Jongho has also stopped, frozen in place, and Seonghwa hears a hitched breath behind him.</p><p>“San-ah—” Seonghwa says, but then the bridge shudders, and they all automatically grip the rope railings, eyes wide.</p><p>“Hyung—” Jongho says, meeting Seonghwa’s eye and looking rather horrified, and then something snaps with an earsplitting <em>crack</em>, and the bridge drops out from beneath them, sending them plummeting into the sea far below. Seonghwa barely has time to register his stomach flipping, San letting out a choked cry, and then his body slams into the water harder than he ever thought possible, knocking the breath from his lungs. </p><p>Water rushes over his head as the current pulls him down, dragging at his clothes and limbs and hair. The water is <em>freezing</em>, shockingly so, and Seonghwa tries to remember not to suck in a surprised breath, but his lungs are already aching for lack of air. He tries to kick, tries to right himself in the water, but he can’t find the surface, and his limbs feel useless, and he doesn’t know where Jongho and San are, and it’s so <em>cold</em>, and he can’t <em>breathe</em>, and what if he just— </p><p>A strong hand fists into the collar of his shirt, and suddenly he’s being hauled through the water, closer and closer to the light, and then his head breaks the surface and he gasps in a desperate breath, still getting a mouthful of salt water, but it’s enough—he gasps and coughs and <em>breathes</em> and starts treading water, trying to help the hand still clutching his collar.</p><p>“Y-you okay?” Jongho asks, breathless, and god, of <em>course</em> it’s Jongho, Seonghwa could have kissed him in relief.</p><p>Seonghwa forces himself to give a jerky nod. “F-fine,” he gasps, straining to keep his head above the waves. “San?”</p><p>Jongho looks grim. “He’s next,” he says, and then he releases Seonghwa’s collar and takes a deep breath before diving beneath the water.</p><p>It’s at this point that Seonghwa lets himself start to panic again, looking desperately around while treading water, trying to catch any glimpse of dark hair among the waves.</p><p>“SAN-AH!” he yells, voice hoarse and cracking, barely audible over the crash of water against the cliffs they’d just climbed. San can’t—they can’t lose him like this, they can’t be separated even <em>more</em>, not now—</p><p>Jongho surfaces again, gasping for breath, and then he disappears beneath the water once more. Seonghwa holds his breath, throat aching, until Jongho comes up again, this time with an arm looped around San’s chest, keeping his head above the water. San’s eyes are closed, and Seonghwa’s heart clenches terribly with fear, but then he sees San cough, brow creasing, and he lets out a choked breath of relief.</p><p>“This way,” Seonghwa calls to them, jerking his head towards the other side of the canyon. There’s a beach there, still a decent distance away, but swimmable. “You got him?”</p><p>Jongho only nods, his arm clutched tightly around San, and they start kicking for land, battling the waves. Seonghwa absently thinks it’s funny how calm he thought the sea looked until they were forced to swim through it.</p><p>It takes them almost ten minutes to reach the beach, and by the time Seonghwa feels sand beneath his feet, his legs can barely support his weight. He ends up crawling most of the way onto the beach, buffeted constantly by waves, and collapses onto his stomach as soon as he’s mostly cleared the water, panting into the sand.</p><p>Seonghwa allows himself a few seconds of trying to catch his breath before he pushes himself up onto all fours to look for his crewmates. He’s relieved to see Jongho and San already standing in the shallows, San’s arm slung over Jongho’s shoulders, and Jongho keeping a tight grip on San’s waist, the two of them trudging wearily onto the beach.</p><p>“<em>Ugh</em>.” San falls first, slipping out of Jongho’s grip to flop onto his back on the sand, chest heaving. “Let’s never do that again.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Jongho collapses to his knees and then onto his side before rolling onto his back, arms akimbo, breath coming in labored gasps. “That sucked.”</p><p>“Everyone okay?” Seonghwa asks, voice hoarse. </p><p>San lifts a hand, aiming a thumbs-up to the sky. Jongho just grunts.</p><p>“Good.” Seonghwa slumps onto his back on the sand, squinting up at the sun. “Let’s take a breather, and then we’ll go find Wooyoung.”</p><p>“Damnit,” San says; he’s glaring at his holoscreen, open above his left wrist. “That cost us half a life each.”</p><p>Seonghwa checks his own holoscreen; sure enough, San’s down to only four purple hearts, and Seonghwa and Jongho are each down by a half.</p><p>“Shit,” he says quietly. “Do you think the others have noticed? Should we let them know we’re okay?”</p><p>“On it,” Jongho says, tapping his own wristband to start a call. The line buzzes quietly for a moment, and then Hongjoong’s face appears on the little screen, frowning but apparently still fine; a bit of the tension that’s been plaguing Seonghwa’s chest ever since they separated eases.</p><p>“What happened?” Hongjoong asks, his voice tinny through the speaker. “You’re all down by half a heart, what the hell—” </p><p>“We fell off a bridge,” Jongho says cheerily. “Everyone’s fine.”</p><p>“Your heart counts say otherwise,” Hongjoong grumbles. “San is already down to four. We have no idea what happens when one of us hits zero. <em>Please</em> be careful.”</p><p>“We have been careful!” Jongho says. “How were we supposed to know that the bridge would collapse?”</p><p>“YA!” </p><p>All three of them look up to find Wooyoung marching down the beach towards them, looking pale and livid. </p><p>“Uh oh,” San whispers, shrinking down against the sand a bit.</p><p>“Do you know how terrifying that was?” Wooyoung snaps as he comes closer, and Seonghwa can see that his anger is mostly fear; he’s addressing all of them, but his eyes are locked on San. “One second you were crossing the bridge behind me, and the next you were all just—gone. And then!” He thrusts his wrist out, console flashing. “I got the alert! A half heart each? Are you serious? Are you okay?”</p><p>“We’re fine, Young-ah,” San says quietly.</p><p>“Stop <em>scaring</em> me like that, then,” Wooyoung says. “I can’t keep almost losing you. Will you just—will you be more careful if I just—?” He breaks off with a frustrated sound, and then he drops to his knees beside San, fists his hands into the front of San’s shirt, and yanks San up into a fierce kiss. San makes a surprised, muffled sound, lifting his hands to clutch at Wooyoung’s arms.</p><p>Seonghwa blinks at them, and then looks away, feeling like he shouldn’t intrude. He makes eye contact with Jongho, who looks equally stunned.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Hongjoong asks through the comm.</p><p>“Uh, I think our resident thief duo are finally consummating… something,” Jongho says quietly. “We’ll be careful, hyung, everybody’s fine, see you later.” And then he taps the wristband, cutting off a spluttering Hongjoong, and scoots across the sand to get closer to Seonghwa. “Have they… is this the first time...?”</p><p>“I think so,” Seonghwa whispers. </p><p>“Ah.” Jongho smiles, then, warm and shy. “Good for them.”</p><p>*</p><p>Wooyoung’s brain might be fritzing a bit. </p><p>His heart is still racing with adrenaline, the pure terror of watching the bridge go out beneath his crewmates, sending them plummeting out of his sight and into the ocean far below. He barely remembers screaming for them, barely remembers the desperate sprint down the rocky cliffside, half-sliding down a rough, scrubby path, heading for the beach, praying to whatever goddamn entity might be listening on this stupid joke of a fake planet that they’d make it to the beach, back to <em>him</em>, that he wouldn’t be left alone and searching, and then his wristband dinged, signaling the loss of hearts, and his stomach dropped, because he knew—he <em>knew</em>—it was them.</p><p>And then reaching the beach, finding them crawling onto the sand, exhausted but alive, and Wooyoung’s eyes went straight to San, soaking wet and panting and beautiful and <em>alive</em>, and Wooyoung just— </p><p>Wooyoung had it.</p><p>He remembers yelling, remembers San saying quietly, calmly, that they’re fine, but it wasn’t enough for them just to be fine now, Wooyoung needs them to be fine forever, needs <em>San</em> to be fine forever, to always be okay, to always be <em>with him</em>, like he <em>promised</em>, and for some reason… </p><p>For some reason, Wooyoung’s brain determined that San could be convinced with a kiss.</p><p>And that’s where Wooyoung is now, his heart in his throat, his hands fisted into San’s sweater, his lips pressed to San’s, tasting salt water. San’s hands are wrapped around Wooyoung’s biceps, squeezing, but not pulling away, and Wooyoung almost wants to cry, because holy shit, he’s never <em>done this</em> before, he’s never—they’ve never— </p><p>He pulls away, breathing hard, an apology already tumbling from his lips, but before he gets too far, deft, damp fingers slide into his hair and tug him forward again, and then San is kissing him again, fiercely, parting his lips beneath his own, and Wooyoung makes a helpless sound into the kiss, because this is too <em>much</em>, his heart is racing and he can barely breathe and this is his <em>San</em>— </p><p>“Okay,” San says, quietly, so close that Wooyoung can feel his breath on his lips. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful. And I won’t—I’ll be here. Okay? I’m here.” He kisses Wooyoung again, and Wooyoung’s shoulders slump; he feels raw, drained, despite the spark burning in his chest, warm and fluttering.</p><p>“Okay,” Wooyoung says, choked, and then he can’t do anything but wrap San into his arms, hugging him as tightly as he can. San hugs him back, burying his face in the crook of Wooyoung’s neck. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” San says again. </p><p>“I know,” Wooyoung says. He turns his head, presses a kiss to San’s temple, because he <em>can</em>, because they’ve <em>kissed</em> now, and Wooyoung doesn’t have to hide this anymore. “I’m sorry for freaking out, I just—I was so scared, I thought—”</p><p>“It’s okay.” San pets Wooyoung’s hair, and he’s still soaking wet, dampening Wooyoung’s clothes, but Wooyoung doesn’t care, just wants to hold him closer. San pulls back slightly, then leans in to kiss the corner of Wooyoung’s lips. “We’re okay.”</p><p>“Uh…” Jongho clears his throat, making Wooyoung jump. “This is adorable, and I’m very happy for you, but it looks like there’s something shimmering up at the top of the cliff where Wooyoung was, and I think it might be a save point. Can we go grab that before something else happens?”</p><p>Wooyoung gently disentangles himself from San, his cheeks burning, and grasps San’s hand to help him to his feet.</p><p>“A save point?” Seonghwa says, already on his feet and attempting to brush sand from his damp jeans. </p><p>“Yeah, so if we die from here on out and need to respawn, we’ll respawn up there instead of on that first beach we woke up on,” Jongho says. He points up at the top of the cliff, and Wooyoung squints upwards, barely making out a shimmering mist at the top of the path he just scrambled down. “I remember seeing the same kind of shimmer near where Yunho respawned, so my guess is that it’s a save point.”</p><p>“Seems fair,” Seonghwa says. He waves a hand at Jongho. “Lead on, o great vid-game guru.”</p><p>Jongho squints at him. “You sure you didn’t hit your head when we fell?”</p><p>Seonghwa rolls his eyes. “Just go.”</p><p>The climb up to the save point is tiring, but Wooyoung barely notices the way his thighs burn, because San’s hand is linked with his, their fingers interlocked, and Wooyoung can still taste saltwater on his lips. He glances at San, and even though San looks the same—damp, dark hair falling into his eyes, strong jawline and high cheekbones—there’s something magical about him now, because Wooyoung knows that he can just kiss that jawline, those cheeks, those lips and dimples and the freckles on his neck— </p><p>“You okay?” San says, smiling at Wooyoung, and Wooyoung almost stumbles.</p><p>“Yep,” Wooyoung says. “Totally fine, thank you.”</p><p>San lets out a little huff of laughter and squeezes Wooyoung’s hand, and they climb on.</p><p>The shimmering mist at the top of the cliff does indeed seem to be a save point. Jongho walks through it first, his shoulders tense, but all that happens is a small ding from his wrist console, and when he checks it, the map shows a small white angel-wing icon near their location, apparently indicating that as a respawn point. They all step through the mist after that, and then head for the coordinates, which looks to be only a short distance away.</p><p>The sun hangs low over the horizon by the time they reach the coordinates Hongjoong sent them, casting a fiery glow over the mountains rising above their heads. Seonghwa keeps checking his wrist console, his brow furrowed, making sure their location is correct.</p><p>“It’s that cave, isn’t it?” Seonghwa says, glancing down at the map on his console and then up at the mountains in front of them, set into the base of which is a gaping, shadowy cave. </p><p>Wooyoung opens the map on his own console and uses his fingers on the display to zoom in, finding the little red X Hongjoong sent them. He sees four colored dots right beside the X, purple, white, yellow, and orange—their heart colors.</p><p>“Seems like it,” Wooyoung says. He looks at the cave, nerves curling in his gut. “It doesn’t look like they’re here yet. Should we just… wait for them out here?” </p><p>“Or we could scout out the cave, make sure it’s not a trap,” San says. Wooyoung shoots him an incredulous look, and San shrugs. “It’d be nice if we could give them a warning, at least. I’m hesitant to trust anything in this world.”</p><p>“Sani-hyung is right,” Jongho says. “We should check it out. We don’t need to go all the way inside, but if we can protect the other half of our crew, we should.”</p><p>“I hate this,” Wooyoung says as they start making their way towards the cave, and San squeezes him into a half hug, pressing their cheeks together.</p><p>“It’s just a game, Young-ah,” he says, clearly trying to lighten the mood, but Wooyoung can’t stop picturing San, Seonghwa, and Jongho plummeting into the ocean, and he doesn’t care if it’s just a game; the terror still feels the same.</p><p>The cave is still and quiet as they approach it. The entrance is about twice as tall as they are, and Wooyoung thinks he can hear water dripping from somewhere inside. The rock walls inside the cave shine in the setting sun, gleaming almost like metal. </p><p>“It looks empty,” Wooyoung says, keeping his voice low. Despite the lack of movement within the cave, he still feels strangely like they’re being watched. It makes his skin crawl. “Come on,” he says, tugging on San’s wrist. “We’ve checked it. Something feels off, I think we should just wait out here, I don’t—”</p><p>The air cracks with the sharp <em>zzt</em> of a blaster shot.</p><p>Wooyoung jolts, his breath catching, hand clenching around San’s wrist. It’s quiet for a moment, and then Wooyoung hears a soft sound.</p><p>“H-hyung—” Jongho says, his voice breaking, and Wooyoung looks over just as Jongho crumples to the ground beside Seonghwa, a charred, smoking hole in his chest.</p><p>Wooyoung sucks in a shaking, horrified breath as he watches Jongho’s body shimmer and disappear.</p><p>“What—” is all Wooyoung has time to get out before a strong hand grips his bicep and spins him around, away from the cave.</p><p>“Go,” San says, breathless, shoving Wooyoung to make him start running, and then Wooyoung hears another sharp <em>zzt</em> coming from within the cave and sees a blaster shot wing through the air towards the sea. Wooyoung stumbles, his knees weak with fear, panic making him dizzy, and glances over his shoulder, even though he knows he shouldn’t, knows he should just <em>run</em>. </p><p>A woman steps out of the cave, long dark hair whipping around her shoulders, clad in a sharp suit and holding a large, gleaming blaster. Her eyes are a striking blue, her lips painted red, and there is no expression on her face as she lifts the gun and aims at Wooyoung.</p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” Wooyoung breathes, whipping around and starting to run, San at his side. San hooks his fingers into Wooyoung’s sleeve and <em>pulls</em>, making Wooyoung stagger just as the blaster cracks and a shot zips through the air where Wooyoung’s head just was.</p><p>“SAN-AH!” Seonghwa’s voice is harsh, desperate, and Wooyoung whips his head around just as Seonghwa shoves San to the ground, taking a blaster shot to the lower back as he goes, a shot that would have struck San if Seonghwa had been a second slower. Seonghwa falls to the ground with a choked cry, and San scrambles back to grab for him, trying to drag him to his feet, but Seonghwa shakes his head, saying through gritted teeth, “I have lives to spare, just go, <em>go!</em>” </p><p>
  <em>ZZT.</em>
</p><p>Another blaster shot catches Seonghwa in the back of the head, and San jerks back in shock. Wooyoung clenches his jaw and stumbles back to snag San’s bicep, yanking him to his feet, hating the way Seonghwa slumps forward, the light fading from his eyes. Wooyoung already knows he’ll never be able to shake that sight, even as Seonghwa’s body shimmers and disappears behind them, presumably respawning back near the cliff, back where Jongho is, where Wooyoung and San will meet them soon if they run fast enough, if they go, if Wooyoung can just get his trembling legs to <em>move</em>— </p><p>“JIU!” An unfamiliar female voice cries out, and Wooyoung glances over his shoulder again to see two more women sprinting for the woman shooting at them. One of the women—tall, with long silvery hair and a blaster in hand—stops a few feet away from the woman in the suit, holding the blaster aimed at the other woman’s head.</p><p>“RUN!” the silver-haired woman yells to them, even as the woman in the suit turns to face her, lifting the blaster, heedless of the other woman—hair a shimmering dark blue, knives in hand—cornering her from the other side. The silver-haired woman glances over at Wooyoung and San, her lovely face resolute, eyes narrowed. “<em>RUN!</em>” she yells again, and Wooyoung grabs San’s hand, his heart in his throat.</p><p>They run.</p><p>*</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>comments are very much appreciated, if you made it this far and are feeling generous~ owo ♡</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The notifications come one after another, under a minute apart, two doleful <em>dings</em> indicating that their teammates have lost lives.</p>
<p>Mingi’s heart sinks as soon as the first one chimes out. Hongjoong is the fastest to get his console open, Yunho and Yeosang close behind, but Mingi doesn’t want to check. He doesn’t want to know which of his teammates died somewhere else on this world, even if the death isn’t real, isn’t permanent. </p>
<p>He doesn’t want to know whom he couldn’t protect.</p>
<p>“Jongho…” Yunho says, his voice choked, and then, mere seconds later, the second <em>ding</em>, and Hongjoong’s breath shudders.</p>
<p>“And Seonghwa-hyung?” Yeosang’s voice is tight. “What the hell did they get themselves into?”</p>
<p>Mingi watches Hongjoong, the way his lips press together, the way his eyes remain locked onto the console at his wrist, presumably fixed on their crewmates’ remaining hearts.</p>
<p>“Weren’t they at the cave already?” Yunho says, his voice hushed. “That’s where they were headed, right? Do you think it was—?” He breaks off, flashing an anxious glance at the four women waiting for them a little ways up the path, conversing with the two Venusian boys. His meaning is clear, and it makes Mingi’s stomach twist.</p>
<p>“You think it was a trap?” Mingi says, keeping his voice low. Yunho shrugs and looks to Hongjoong, but Hongjoong is still focused on his wrist console. He presses the vid-icon beside Seonghwa’s name, and they all wait with bated breath for a moment as the console chirps, the sound of an outgoing call. It rings three times, four, five, and then cuts off with a long beep.</p>
<p>Seonghwa never answers.</p>
<p>“Captain,” Yeosang says, his voice careful, “he might still be—” </p>
<p>Hongjoong jabs another call icon, this one beside Wooyoung’s name, glowing canary yellow. The line chirps again, once, twice, and then the next chirp cuts off halfway, and a harried voice bursts from the console.</p>
<p>“Hyung!” Wooyoung sounds out of breath, panicked, his breath coming in heavy gasps. “Hyung, there was a woman—Jongho, she—she shot—and then—Seonghwa-hyung—they’re—<em>SAN-AH, WAIT!</em>” </p>
<p>“Wooyoung?” Hongjoong says, sharp. “What’s happening? Are you—?”</p>
<p>“What? No, we’re—<em>fuck.</em>” There’s a scuffle, a few more muffled curses, what might be a distant blaster shot, and then a choked off cry right before the line cuts off with another long beep.</p>
<p>“Wooyoung-ah,” Hongjoong says into the console, his brow furrowed. “Wooyoung-ah!” But the line is dead.</p>
<p>“No notification,” Yunho says, after a moment of strained silence. “So he’s… still alive, at least?” </p>
<p>“And so is San,” Yeosang says, eyeing his own wrist console. “For now.”</p>
<p>Mingi eyes Hongjoong, taking in the tense line of his shoulders, the dark set to his jaw. Hongjoong lowers his wrist console, and his gaze turns to their escorts, who are now watching them, the two Venusian boys looking concerned, the developers wary.</p>
<p>“Hyung—” Mingi says, reaching for him, but Hongjoong shrugs off Mingi’s hand and storms toward their companions, looking livid. Mingi meets Yunho’s eye and sees his own nerves reflected there. Yeosang looks grim, but unperturbed, and they all follow their captain.</p>
<p>“Was it a trap?” Hongjoong snaps as he approaches the rest of their group. “Did you send my crew to that cave knowing that there would be an ambush waiting for them?” </p>
<p>“They were attacked?” To Siyeon’s credit, she sounds genuinely surprised, darting a wide-eyed glance towards SuA, who remains stony-faced.</p>
<p>“Two of them lost lives,” Hongjoong snarls, thrusting his wrist console forward. “You expect me to believe you had nothing to do with this? Apparently there was a woman there, and she shot them.”</p>
<p>“Shit.” That’s the developer named Gahyeon, petite and pink-haired, a scythe slung across her back. “That has to be Min—”</p>
<p>“Gahyeon.” SuA’s voice is sharp as a blade, a warning. </p>
<p>“It’s JiU,” Dami says. “The Hunter. Has to be.”</p>
<p>“Did you know?” Hongjoong asks again, through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>“No,” SuA says with a glare. “We sent your crewmates to that cave because it’s the last place I coded as a logout point. If JiU is there, that means she’s learned about it, and now we might not even be able to use it ourselves, so trust me. We didn’t tell her.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, but…” Wonhyuk raises a tentative hand. “Who’s JiU?” </p>
<p>“A rogue NPC who used to be like them,” Yeosang says, inclining his head towards the developers, his eyes cold. “So what’s the plan now, then? Do you need to code us another logout point?” </p>
<p>SuA looks pained. “I could, but it takes time. Did your friends say anything else? I assume some of them got away.”</p>
<p>“They’re in the <em>process</em> of getting away, after your friend attacked them,” Hongjoong says. “And two of them were still being respawned, so no, they didn’t fucking say anything else.”</p>
<p>“Can’t we just fight her, if we need to?” Mingi asks SuA, keeping his voice steady despite his humming nerves. “And still use that logout point? She’s only one person, even if she did manage to take out two of our friends.” </p>
<p>“The problem isn’t whether or not we can handle JiU,” SuA says. “It’s whether she finds the logout point and corrupts it before we’re able to use it.”</p>
<p>“How does the logout point work, anyway?” Yeosang asks. “If you just need to code another one, then I could try to help.”</p>
<p>“It’s… complicated,” SuA says, grimacing. “The UI is simple enough. I designed it as an emergency exit hatch that the player pulls to be logged out. It’s the underlying functionality itself—the actual logout mechanism—that’s much more complex. You’d need to be familiar with both R.o.S.E.’s code and the sedation console that’s keeping your real bodies asleep and in the game in order for the logout to be successful.”</p>
<p>“Wait, we’re being kept under sedation while we’re here?” Mingi says, the hair on the back of his neck prickling.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Gahyeon says. “It’s safest, for this kind of VR experience.”</p>
<p>“Forgive me if I don’t exactly have a lot of faith in this ‘VR experience’ right now,” Hongjoong mutters, scowling, and Mingi can’t help but agree. The idea of them all lying unconscious somewhere, defenseless and vulnerable, while their minds are trapped in a vid-game… it makes Mingi’s skin crawl. </p>
<p>“Look, we said we’d get you out of here, and we will,” SuA snaps. “JiU knowing about the logout point just adds a bit more risk to our original plan. We’ll fight her off if we need to. We’ve done it before.”</p>
<p>“And what about our crewmates?” Yunho says. “Are they still in danger? Should we—”</p>
<p>A wrist console starts chirping, and Mingi immediately checks his own, as do the rest of the <em>Treasure</em> crew, but it’s Dami who accepts the call, lifting her own sleek black wrist console so it’s level with her face.</p>
<p>“Hey, Yoohyeon, everything okay?” she says.</p>
<p>“We’re fine.” A woman’s voice comes through the speaker, tinny and distant and stressed. “Just ran Minji off again. She was attacking some tourists near the caves. Did you send them here?”</p>
<p>Mingi frowns, leaning close to Hongjoong. “‘Minji’?” he says, keeping his voice low.</p>
<p>“The Hunter, I’m guessing.” That’s Yeosang, stepping closer to them, his eyes fixed on the developers as they continue to talk to their comrades. “I think JiU is a codename, same as SuA. I’ve seen those initials in the code. I think they used them as a kind of signature.”</p>
<p>“You can see that much detail in the code?” Hongjoong says.</p>
<p>Yeosang nods, the motion stiff, and Mingi is struck once again by just how tired Yeosang looks. There are shadows beneath his eyes, lines at the corners of his mouth. Mingi wonders how much stress Yeosang’s mechanical systems are taking from the constant input of information from R.o.S.E., or how the inhuman parts of his body are handling whatever sedation they’re under.</p>
<p>“You still doing okay?” Mingi whispers, and Yeosang flashes him a weary smile.</p>
<p>“I’ll survive,” he says.</p>
<p>“We should start thinking about how we’ll get out of here if our guides can’t help,” Hongjoong says in a low voice, narrowed eyes fixed on the developers. “Yeosang, do you think you could figure out how the logout code works, if we can get you to that cave?”</p>
<p>“I can try,” Yeosang says. “But SuA is right. I could do more harm than good without knowing how we’re all sedated. If we log out but can’t wake up, we’re, ah… fucked.”</p>
<p>Yunho lets out a snort.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” he says, when Yeosang blinks at him in surprise. “I just can’t remember the last time I heard you curse.”</p>
<p>Yeosang’s lips quirk into a small smile. “It seemed appropriate.”</p>
<p>“If we’re getting out on our own, then we’ll need to bring the Venusians with us,” Mingi says, glancing at the boys. They’re huddled together, watching both the developers and the <em>Treasure</em> crew carefully, calculatingly. Mingi recognizes that look; he saw it on his own crew members’ faces when they were still deciding whether or not to trust the crew of the <em>1-US</em>. “I know our priorities have changed a bit since we entered this game,” Mingi continues, “but we’ll still need that paycheck once we’re out.”</p>
<p>Hongjoong nods, drawing his bottom lip between his teeth. His gaze flicks to the Venusian boys, but just as he opens his mouth to call to them, his wrist console starts chirping. Hongjoong lifts his arm so quickly that Mingi jumps, and Mingi catches a glimpse of the name on the screen (<em>Seonghwa</em>, he reads with relief, some of the tension draining from his shoulders) just before Hongjoong answers the call. The vid-screen shimmers to life, and Seonghwa’s face appears, frowning, but unharmed.</p>
<p>“Seonghwa.” Hongjoong’s voice is soft, and Mingi squeezes his shoulder; he doesn’t miss the way Hongjoong looks at Seonghwa, the way his breath shudders ever so slightly as he attempts to settle himself. “Are you safe?” </p>
<p>“For now,” Seonghwa says, glancing at something off screen. “Jongho and I respawned near each other, and Wooyoung and San are on their way to meet us. What about you? Are you all right? Where are you?”</p>
<p>“We’re fine, we’re on our way to the caves,” Hongjoong says. “Or at least, we were until you two died. Who attacked you?”</p>
<p>“A woman.” Seonghwa shakes his head, his gaze distant as he tries to remember. “She didn’t speak, or—or show any kind of emotion, she just pointed a blaster at us and fired. We have no idea who she was.” </p>
<p>“We think she was one of the developers of the game,” Hongjoong says, glancing over at their escorts. “But they don’t seem to be on good terms anymore. It sounds like she’s been corrupted by this world, somehow, which might explain why she attacked you. We’re currently trying to figure out whether the cave is still a viable logout point, or whether we’ll need a new plan.”</p>
<p>Seonghwa nods slowly. “Okay,” he says. “We’ll lay low, for now, once Wooyoung and San are here. I want to meet up with you before we try for the cave again, though. Power in numbers, and all that.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, let’s plan on that,” Hongjoong says. “You just… stay safe, okay? You and Jongho are both down to only three full lives each.” He smiles, crooked and wan. “Please try not to get any lower.”</p>
<p>“Just because you haven’t run into any traps…” Seonghwa grumbles, but he’s smiling, and Mingi has a feeling he’s joking to make Hongjoong feel better. “But yes, we’ll be safe. Call me when you’re close, yeah?”</p>
<p>“I will.” Hongjoong hesitates, then, his brow furrowed, but before he can speak again or end the call, Yunho leans over Hongjoong’s shoulder and whisper-yells, “MISS YOU!” at the screen, which makes Seonghwa laugh.</p>
<p>“Miss you, too,” he says. “Hurry up and meet us.”</p>
<p>“We will!” Yunho says, waving, and Hongjoong lets out a small huff of laughter.</p>
<p>“Bye, Seonghwa,” he says, warmly, and ends the call after Seonghwa gives a wave.</p>
<p>“Your crewmates are safe?” Siyeon asks, once the call is over.</p>
<p>“For now,” Hongjoong says. “So what’s the plan? What did your friend say?”</p>
<p>“The logout point is intact,” Dami says. “Yoohyeon just checked it, and apparently JiU didn’t get a chance to tamper with it before they got there, so it should still work.”</p>
<p>“They’re going to guard it until we get there, to make sure JiU doesn’t try anything again,” says Gahyeon. “Are you still okay with us taking you there?”</p>
<p>Mingi meets Hongjoong’s questioning look with a shrug; his desire to escape this game outweighs any mistrust he has for the developers, at least for now. Yeosang and Yunho look about as certain as Mingi feels. Hongjoong lets out a small sigh and nods.</p>
<p>“Yes,” he says. “But we need to meet up with the rest of our crew before we go to the cave. I’m not sending them there alone again.”</p>
<p>“Fair,” SuA says. She glances up at the sky, which has turned purple  “We should get moving, then. If you think R.o.S.E. is dangerous during the day, just wait until the sun sets.”</p>
<p>“Encouraging,” Mingi grumbles, and then they’re on their way.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Yeosang isn’t quite sure how he’s still upright.</p>
<p>His left eye has started twitching, just enough to be irritating. His heartbeat still feels wrong, a sensation he hasn’t felt in years, not since his organic heart was first replaced by a machine, those first terrible few months where Yeosang’s body knew, always, that something in his chest was <em>wrong</em> and <em>new</em> and felt the need to fight it every waking hour of the day. Except now the issue isn’t that his heart is mechanical, it’s that it’s <em>not</em>—the game has decided to code him a normal, human heart, and now <em>that</em> feels wrong, and Yeosang’s brain is once again sending him constant signals that something is off, that he is not safe, that his body needs to <em>fight</em>. </p>
<p>On top of his body rebelling is the constant input of code, noticed only obliquely mere hours earlier, but now glimmering everywhere, at the edges of his vision, on the shoulders of his companions, in the very air itself, a constant deluge of information that Yeosang’s exhausted brain can barely even parse anymore. Even when he closes his eyes, the code seems to flutter against his skin, unrelenting, like a swarm of insects, begging to be deciphered.</p>
<p>“Yeosang-ah?” Yunho’s gentle voice pulls Yeosang to the surface, and he opens his eyes to see Yunho watching him with poorly veiled concern. Yunho forces a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “How’re you doing?” </p>
<p>“Fine,” Yeosang says, the automatic answer, a lie. Something flickers on Yunho’s chest, near where he was impaled; it’s just a few snippets of code, but one in particular catches Yeosang’s eye. Yeosang blinks, squints until it comes into focus, and notes that the snippet of code—glittering a pleasant green—is linked to Yunho’s remaining lives. For a moment, Yeosang can see each of Yunho’s hearts—the glowing blue ones he still has, and the darkened spot where he lost one—and somehow, incredibly, that glittering green code fits snug into the dark spot, and something chimes in Yeosang’s mind, the unmistakable chirrup of an achievement in a vid-game.</p>
<p>“... Yeosang?” Yunho’s voice pulls him back again, and Yeosang realizes he stopped walking for a moment, his gaze fixed on Yunho’s chest.</p>
<p>“What? Oh.” Yeosang squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, trying to block out the code, the ache, the exhaustion. There was something important in that glittering green code fragment, a revelation in that chime, and if Yeosang could just quiet the constant stream of information in his brain, could just <em>think— </em></p>
<p>
  <em>An achievement.</em>
</p>
<p>Realization slams into Yeosang like a wave, and he opens his eyes, a theory bubbling on his tongue. Yunho is still watching him, worried, and now Hongjoong is looking back, too, his brow creased.</p>
<p>“Yeosang-ah? What’s wrong?” Hongjoong calls.</p>
<p>“I—there’s something I need to try,” Yeosang says. He steps past Yunho, passes Hongjoong and Mingi on the path, and catches up to their escorts. Dami is the first to glance over her shoulder at his approach, so he goes to her first. “I need to borrow your sword,” he says, not bothering with pleasantries; his mind feels clear for the first time in hours, and if he’s right about this—if this is the secret— </p>
<p>Dami narrows her eyes at him. “Why?” </p>
<p>“I need to test a theory,” Yeosang says. “Don’t worry, I’ll be the only one at risk.”</p>
<p>“What theory?” Gahyeon asks from just beyond Dami.</p>
<p>Yeosang glances at her. “You’ll see if you let me borrow a weapon,” he says. “Please.”</p>
<p>Dami looks to SuA, who shrugs, looking exasperated.</p>
<p>“If he kills one of us, we’ll just respawn at that last save point we passed and take him out after,” SuA says. “Let him.”</p>
<p>Dami makes a face, unconvinced, but she slips the sheathed sword from her back and hands it to Yeosang, who takes it in both hands, grips the hilt, and unsheathes it in one smooth motion. The blade gleams in the dim light, the fake sun now fully beneath the horizon, the forest path they’ve been traveling on more shadows than light.</p>
<p>“Yeosang-ah.” Hongjoong’s voice is quiet, cautious, not unlike a parent speaking to a child they don’t quite trust to make a good decision. Yeosang figures he probably deserves that, given how off-kilter he’s been since they woke up in this world. “What are you doing?”</p>
<p>“Experimenting,” Yeosang says. He looks to his crew, all watching him with wary eyes, and gives them a small smile. “Please don’t panic,” he says, and then he drives the blade of the sword into his own stomach.</p>
<p>Yeosang feels pain, at first, but only for the briefest second, come and gone so quickly that Yeosang wonders if the pain is even actually coded into the game or if his brain just expected it. After the flash of pain come the echoes of familiar voices screaming his name, and then blackness, and relief. The aches of Yeosang’s coded body fade, and Yeosang finds himself suspended in darkness, surrounded by flickering fragments of code that glint like distant stars. He can tell that only his consciousness is being whisked away, presumably back to that save point their group passed about ten minutes prior, and he glimpses for a moment a display of his own hearts—green and glowing, hovering in the darkness before him—just as one of the five fades, and the code gives a happy little chime, as though Yeosang just unlocked an achievement, or completed a mission.</p>
<p><em>Oh</em>, Yeosang thinks, as his consciousness starts to sink, and then he feels weighted down again, heavy, aching, and he knows he has been given a new body.</p>
<p>The world comes into focus gradually, and Yeosang opens his eyes to find himself lying on his back on the forest path, staring up at the fake evening sky. He hears distant voices yelling, and he contemplates calling out to them, telling them they don’t need to come find him, that he’ll just catch up, but he is too distracted by his discovery to properly formulate words just yet.</p>
<p>Losing a life is treated as an <em>achievement</em> in the code. Each lost life is a step in the right direction, according to R.o.S.E., and Yeosang has a feeling that he knows how they’re all supposed to escape the game.</p>
<p>“We have to die,” Yeosang says, as soon as he hears the sound of running footsteps, and then Yunho is leaning over him, his face scrunched into a frown.</p>
<p>“What?” Yunho crouches down beside him and helps Yeosang into a sitting position, his big hands gentle despite his obvious irritation. “Why the hell did you do that? I thought Hongjoong-hyung’s head was gonna explode, he is <em>not</em> happy.”</p>
<p>“I had to try it,” Yeosang says, wincing as his heart gives an odd thump, his physical body trying to overcome the code once again. “And it seemed safest to just try it on myself. I have enough lives, and it was less suspicious than me running someone else through with a sword.”</p>
<p>“Sure, but why did <em>anyone</em> have to get run through with a sword?” </p>
<p>Yeosang presses a hand to Yunho’s chest, making Yunho freeze. “I saw it here,” Yeosang says. “Your four remaining lives, and then an empty spot, where the fifth used to be. But the fifth spot was… complete, somehow. Like a checkbox that had been checked.” Yeosang’s fingers curl against the front of Yunho’s jacket, right where a talon impaled him only hours earlier. “The code treated you losing that life as a positive achievement, and it did the same to me when I just died and respawned.”</p>
<p>“A positive achievement… like we’re supposed to be dying?” Yunho sounds dubious. “And that’s how we win the game?”</p>
<p>Yeosang shrugs. “According to the code,” he says. “My guess is that in order to leave the game, we need to lose all of our lives first. Otherwise, we’re just trapped here forever, trying to survive.”</p>
<p>“How do we know that losing all of our lives won’t actually just… kill us?” Yunho says. “Dying to win seems very counterintuitive.”</p>
<p>“Maybe that’s the point,” Yeosang says. “If you were a mutant vid-game who wanted to keep people trapped in you forever, wouldn’t you use their own natural survival instincts against them?”</p>
<p>Yunho sits back onto his heels, running a hand through his hair, and grumbles, “Ugh, this world hurts my brain.”</p>
<p>“Mine too,” Yeosang says. He gets to his feet, swaying only a little before he reaches a hand down to Yunho. “Come on. Let’s keep our dear captain’s head from exploding. I have a few questions I want to ask our new developer friends.”</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>San’s hand aches from Wooyoung’s bruising grip. On any other day, in any other situation, San might pat Wooyoung’s hand and encourage him to loosen his hold, but not now, not when San can feel the way Wooyoung’s hand trembles in his own.</p>
<p>“Should we try calling them again?” Wooyoung says as he drags San along, no longer running, but still quick enough that he sounds a bit out of breath.</p>
<p>“They’ll call us once they’ve respawned and recovered,” San says, trying to sound calm despite the fear still making his heart race. “They’ll be okay, Young-ah. It hasn’t been that long.”</p>
<p>“But what if something goes wrong?” Wooyoung says. “Or what if they just don’t call? Or they get attacked again right after they respawn, or—?”</p>
<p>“You know Seonghwa-hyung as well as I do,” San says. “He’ll want to meet back up. He’ll call.”</p>
<p>Wooyoung lets out a frustrated breath, but he stops arguing, and they continue on in tense silence, Wooyoung maintaining his death grip on San’s hand.</p>
<p>San wonders whether they should at least try calling Hongjoong again. They haven’t heard back from him since that first brief, frantic call while they were still ducking rogue blaster shots and running for their lives, trying to get out of sight of the mysterious shooter and the two women who came to their rescue. Wooyoung tried to call Seonghwa and Jongho twice each after that, but every call went without answer, and San refuses to watch Wooyoung’s face fall yet again.</p>
<p>Either Seonghwa or Jongho will call them when they’re ready. They will.</p>
<p>As though in response to San’s silent assurances, Wooyoung’s comm unit starts to chime, and Wooyoung comes to a stop so quickly that San nearly stumbles into him.</p>
<p>“Seonghwa-hyung?” Wooyoung says as soon as he answers the call, before the vid-screen has even properly opened above the comm unit.</p>
<p>“Hey, are you okay?” Relief melts the tension in San’s shoulders as soon as he sees Seonghwa’s face projected on the screen. “Is Sani with you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, he’s here, we’re together,” Wooyoung says, glancing at San. San places a hand on the nape of Wooyoung’s neck, squeezing lightly. “Where’s Jongho?”</p>
<p>“Right here.” Seonghwa angles the camera so that Jongho appears over his shoulder, giving a single wave. The video is dark, and San realizes that the sun has finally vanished beyond the horizon, leaving behind long shadows and a violet sky. “We respawned near the cliffs. How fast can you get here? We should regroup before we decide on our next move.”</p>
<p>“We can be there soon,” Wooyoung says. He glances at San, raising an eyebrow. “Fifteen minutes? Maybe?”</p>
<p>San opens his own wrist console and taps the small compass icon beside Seonghwa’s name, which brings him to the little white and orange dots that represent Seonghwa and Jongho. </p>
<p>“Fifteen minutes seems about right,” he says, estimating the distance between those dots and his and Wooyoung’s. “Maybe sooner, if we hurry.”</p>
<p>“Just be careful, okay?” Seonghwa says. “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll be right here waiting for you, so just… be safe.”</p>
<p>“You too,” Wooyoung says. “If you see any more pretty ladies with guns, run.”</p>
<p>Seonghwa lets out a laugh. “Will do. I’m gonna call Hongjoong and let him know we’re all right. See you soon.”</p>
<p>Wooyoung ends the call, looking much lighter. He takes San’s hand again, but this time he’s smiling, and his grip is loose, easy, as he links their fingers together.</p>
<p>“Shall we?” he says.</p>
<p>They walk in silence for a few minutes, San switching between watching the darkening fields around them—mountains at their back, a forest to the west, the sea before them—and hazarding glances at Wooyoung. He can still recall with embarrassing clarity the soft press of Wooyoung’s lips against his, the way his heart skipped as soon as Wooyoung curled his fingers into his shirt. It’s strange, how it feels like nothing has changed, even though San knows that everything is different now, that emotions both of them have kept buried for months (<em>years?</em>) have been dragged to the surface, budding and new and vulnerable.</p>
<p>“What are you thinking about?” Wooyoung asks eventually, his voice soft. </p>
<p>“You,” San responds, honestly, and even in the dim light of evening, he smiles at the way Wooyoung flushes, ears and cheeks turning a pleased pink.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah?” Wooyoung says. “What about me?” </p>
<p>“I’m just curious.” San squeezes Wooyoung’s hand. “How long have you wanted to… do that? To kiss me?” </p>
<p>Wooyoung is quiet for a few moments, but he bumps his shoulder gently against San’s, seemingly not upset at the question.</p>
<p>“Honestly?” Wooyoung says. “Probably since you found me drunk off my ass on my grandfather’s rooftop.”</p>
<p>San stops walking, stunned, dragging Wooyoung to a halt beside him.</p>
<p>Wooyoung blinks at him, startled. “What?”</p>
<p>“That long?” San says, his voice hushed, heart thumping, because oh god, Wooyoung has wanted to kiss him since—since <em>Mars—</em>?</p>
<p>“Well, yeah.” Wooyoung looks a bit embarrassed. “I thought that would’ve been kinda obvious, considering I literally ran away with you a little while after that.”</p>
<p>“Holy shit, Wooyoung.” San lets out a helpless laugh, running a hand down his face. “We’re so stupid.”</p>
<p>“What? Why?” Wooyoung says, a bit defensively. “When did you start liking me?” </p>
<p>“Young-ah, I took a bullet for you,” San says. “When I wasn’t even a real bodyguard.”</p>
<p>“Oh. Right.” Wooyoung stares at him, his lips parted in surprise, and San laughs again. </p>
<p>“Like I said,” he says, leaning in to kiss Wooyoung’s parted lips. “So stupid.”</p>
<p>Wooyoung slides his fingers into San’s hair and tugs him back in for a deeper kiss, smiling against San’s lips, and that’s when both of their wrist consoles <em>ding</em>, making San’s stomach sink.</p>
<p>Wooyoung pulls away first, but he doesn’t check his console, his anxious gaze fixed on San. “Who was it?”</p>
<p>San squeezes Wooyoung’s hand and checks his own wrist console, frowning down at the blinking notification. His heart twists.</p>
<p>“Yeosang,” he whispers. </p>
<p>“God.” Wooyoung squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m so fucking sick of this game.”</p>
<p>“Come on,” San says. “We should hurry. I’ll feel better once we’re all together.”</p>
<p>They haven’t walked more than fifteen paces before a dark shape rises from the long grass in front of them. It’s indistinct in the fading light, half-crouched, spindly limbs silhouetted against the sky. San automatically steps forward, placing himself between Wooyoung and the strange figure, but he finds himself yanked back, Wooyoung taking his place in front.</p>
<p>San grips Wooyoung’s bicep. “What’re you—?”</p>
<p>“I have more lives than you do,” Wooyoung says.</p>
<p>“Young-ah—”</p>
<p>The creature in front of them shifts, an unnatural, twitchy movement that sends shivers down San’s spine. He can just make out four gleaming eyes in the figure’s face, and the glint of overlarge fangs. </p>
<p>“We don’t have weapons,” San hisses. “I’m better at hand-to-hand combat than you are, so just let me—”</p>
<p>“No,” Wooyoung snaps. “I’m not letting you die in front of me. Not again.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Not again.</em>
</p>
<p>San closes his mouth, arguments forgotten at the desperate frustration he hears in Wooyoung’s voice. He forgets, sometimes, that when that blaster shot caught him in the chest near the airlock of the <em>Treasure</em>, Wooyoung thought he was dead. They’ve talked about it a few times since, but never for too long, Wooyoung always claiming to be too tired, or busy, or just pretending to fall asleep against San’s side, but San should have known that Wooyoung wouldn’t easily forget it. </p>
<p>“Okay.” San relents, tightening his fingers around Wooyoung’s arm. “You can take lead, but I’ll still be here, all right?” </p>
<p>Wooyoung nods, a tight, jerky motion, and they face down the creature, which steps towards them, mouth gaping open. It draws in a rasping, spine-chilling breath, and then—bizarrely—it speaks. </p>
<p>“<em>Help… me…</em>” </p>
<p>San freezes, his skin prickling.</p>
<p>“Did… did it just say…?” Wooyoug’s voice trembles, horrified.</p>
<p>“<em>Help…</em>” the creature rasps again, and then, in that same inhuman, tortured voice,“<em>Run…</em>” </p>
<p>“Uh… why would a vid-game monster be telling us to run?” Wooyoung whispers.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” San says, unable to drag his gaze from the terrible, hunched creature before them, which, as it shambles closer, starts to look more and more like some kind of living corpse, with too many eyes and limbs that have been stretched far too thin. It looks like a nightmare, and it looks like it’s in agony.</p>
<p>“<em>Help… me…</em>”it gasps again, its voice like nails scraped over bone, and San makes a quick, terror-driven decision: He grasps Wooyoung’s wrist and takes the monster’s advice.</p>
<p>“Run,” he says, and they sprint in the direction of the sea, giving the creature a wide berth. San hazards a single glance back as they go, to see if they’re being pursued, but all he sees is the creature receding into the distance, four gleaming eyes following them into the night.</p>
<p>The creature doesn’t follow, but they don’t slow down, and eventually all San hears is the pounding of his own heart in his ears, and those two terrible, tortured words: <em>Help me.</em></p>
<p>*</p>
<p>“Wait, you’re telling me that losing lives is a <em>good</em> thing now?” Hongjoong says. He looks from Yeosang—standing serenely before their group, looking no worse for the wear after his death and respawn—to SuA, whose arms are crossed, her brow creased as she listens to Yeosang’s theory.</p>
<p>“According to the code, yes.” Yeosang sounds patient, but Hongjoong can tell by the stubborn set of his jaw that he’s more frustrated than he’s letting on. “When you lose a life, the game counts it as an achievement, rather than a failure. Every life lost is closer to the ultimate goal, whatever that might be.”</p>
<p>“Logging out, I assume,” SuA says. “Although I’d need to double-check the code to be sure. But that’s how the game used to work. Before R.o.S.E. went rogue and started changing the rules, if you lost all of your lives, you’d just get logged out of the game and have to start again, if you wanted to continue playing. You’d pay again, log in again, start from wherever it was you last did a big save.” She shrugs. “Standard vid-game procedure. That and actually finishing all of the quests were the non-emergency ways to log out of the game.”</p>
<p>“And the emergency ways?” Mingi says.</p>
<p>“Logout points,” Dami says. “Like the one we’re taking you to.”</p>
<p>“So someone must’ve changed the code back,” Gahyeon says. She glances at her comrades, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Do you think…?”</p>
<p>“There’s no way to know who did it just yet,” Siyeon says, squeezing Gahyeon’s shoulder. “But it’s… encouraging that the rules have even changed back this much.”</p>
<p>“So what, we can just… die a few times, and get out?” Baekgyeul sounds dubious, and Hongjoong can’t help but agree.</p>
<p>“Not necessarily,” Yeosang says. “There was something else encoded in the lost life, some parameter I couldn’t quite catch—”</p>
<p>“I’ll take a look at it once we get to the cave,” SuA says. “But… thanks. That’s helpful information to have, I appreciate it.”</p>
<p>“Wait, so if in the original game you’d log out once you either won or lost all of your lives… how did it work after R.o.S.E. changed the rules?” Mingi asks. “What would’ve happened if any of us had gotten to zero?”</p>
<p>The developers hesitate, exchanging glances that raise the hair on the back of Hongjoong’s neck.</p>
<p>“SuA,” he says, his voice sharp, stern, and SuA shoots him an almost guilty look.</p>
<p>“Players who lost all of their lives would end up becoming a part of the game,” SuA says. “Either as a nameless, thoughtless NPC, or as… one of the monsters.”</p>
<p>“What?” Yunho breathes, sounding horrified. </p>
<p>“Wait, so those monsters we killed… those were <em>people</em> once?” Wonhyuk says.</p>
<p>“Some of them, yes,” Dami says, grim.</p>
<p>Hongjoong pictures the spider-like creatures they faced on the beach, the long-limbed beast that attacked them in the forest, both seemingly mindless and easily enough dispatched without a second thought. The idea that those might have been innocent patrons of R.o.S.E. at some point, or travelers kidnapped the same way he and his crew had been, down five lives and doomed to live forever in a vid-game— </p>
<p>“We’ve only personally known one player who lost all of her lives while in the game,” Siyeon says, her voice hushed. “And now she’s known only as the Hunter.”</p>
<p>An uncomfortable silence falls, and Hongjoong finds his crew looking to him, their expressions a range of anxiety. Hongjoong looks to SuA and finds her watching him, her gaze somehow both vulnerable and defiant. He sees something in her that he recognizes: a new leader, doing her best to keep her crew together while faced with overwhelming odds and unthinkable loss. Hongjoong presses his lips together, barely reining in a heavy sigh.</p>
<p>“Okay,” he says, pitching his voice to carry, full captain-mode. “Now we know, and we can work with that. Our ultimate goal hasn’t changed. We find the rest of our crew, and we try to log out so we can get off this damn planet.” He meets SuA’s eye. “Sound like a plan?”</p>
<p>“It does,” she says, and Hongjoong doesn’t miss her relief.</p>
<p>“Let’s move,” he says, and on they go.</p>
<p>*</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry this took months to get out, i was both distracted by other things and having some trouble with this au. ;w; </p>
<p>thanks for reading! comments are appreciated, if you enjoyed it~</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>come yodel at me on twit, if you like ♡</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/aintitnifty">main account</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/magnificentbirb">writing account</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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